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THE EMMAUS EUREKAWeek of Sunday April 26th, 2020…..Edition #6GOOD NEWS STORIESEach week we try and highlight some good things that have happened that people might like to know about.Many people shine in difficult times and it’s good to hear their stories. Our first story is from England.Tom Moore,a 99 year old veteran from Bedfordshire wanted to raise some money for the National Health Service to fight Covid 19. Tom uses a walker so he let it be known that he would take a stroll through his garden one hundred times and invited people to sponsor him. He made his first trip at the beginning of April and hoped to raise $l,200.00 U.S. before his 100th birthday later in April. His story and his cause obviously hit a chord with people for when he finished more than 648,000 people had donated $15 million to fight the disease. On his final lap soldiers from the 1st Battalion, Yorkshire Regiment gave him a guard of honor. “He has served his country in the past and he’s serving his country now” UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock said of Moore’s achievement. Bravo Tom Moore!Our second story is from our very own Emmaus Church! A few weeks back St. Luke’s Cathedral figured out a way to safely hold a food drive and they shared their method with us. We announced that we’d hold a food drive too and last Monday volunteers were driving donors houses and picking up food that had been put out on the porch. It was our first new style food drive and we didn’t have a lot of lead time but still managed to collect several hundred pounds of food that was donated to St. Vincent Place. The need is very great as more people are coming for help who have been laid off or lost their jobs due to Covid 19. So…..we’re going to do this monthly on the third Wednesday of every month. On Wednesday May 20th we’ll hold our next Emmaus Food Drive so you’ve lots of time to put together something to help with this between now and then. There will be ongoing reminders of this event and we know that Emmaus will be supportive as always. The need is very great. Our third story involves many of the same cast of characters as the one above! St. Vincent Place and Emmaus work together to provide a regular hot meal for the residents of Vincent Place and any other person who needs one Obviously there are other groups doing the same thing and this week we received a request for help from one that didn’t think it had the workers needed to do it this month. Several of our workers went to Vincent Place and helped that group prepare and serve a take-out meal. People got to eat, we made some new friends and a mutual assistance bond was formed which is always a useful and necessary agreement to have. Churches might be closed but Christian work hasn’t stopped!HOW TO COPEI’ve noticed that the way we’re forced to live right now is starting to get old but if you personally want to get old don’t stop doing it! For the first while it was almost an adventure as we learned how to shop just once a week, how to stay at least two meters apart, how to work within the system to buy something at stores that can’t let you come inside and so forth. We all did our part and there was a feeling of camaraderie but I’ve noticed that the feeling is wearing thin and people aren’t as tolerant as they were. I was walking my dog down Wellington St. when a passing car laid on the horn and scared me and the dog half to death. Not having always been mild mannered kindly Fr. Bob I was about to give him my famous one waggling finger salute and roll out a long string of epithets I learned as a bus driver when I realized that he hadn’t even seen me….his abuse was aimed at the driver beside him who was also laying on the horn and hollering back at him. I realized that whatever happened ticked off at least three people and a dog, not counting whoever else was startled by all the horn honking. So what should you know about anger? Well here’s what the Canadian Mental Health Association has to say about it.-1-Anger is a signal that we are facing a stressful situation. Too often, anger is not expressed openly and then it causes difficulty. People hold their anger in, hoping it will go away or they will “deal with it” somehow which often turns it into something else like drinking, overeating or becoming sleepless, sarcastic or physically ill. Acknowledging the irritation, frustration or hurt as soon as possible and expressing it appropriately helps take the harm out of the anger and lets you accept and deal with that emotion. Here’s some things to do:Accept that you are in control of what you say, do, think and feel. No person is responsible for your feelings but you and only you can do something to change them. Learn to recognize your feelings, frustrations, hurts, loneliness and fear and those of others. Acknowledge them and try to express them in words. Listen to the feelings behind the anger. Is it pain? Is it stress? Remember that the way in which you become and express anger is a habit and a habit can be unlearned if you choose to change it. Remember that physical energy helps relieve stress and tension. Don’t sit all day. Get up and do something, whatever you can. Deal with irritations as they occur and don’t let them build up into an overpowering problem. Accept what you must and change what you can. Angry feelings are harmful when totally unexpressed or when expressed through physical violence. Learn to express anger in an appropriate and healthy manner by taking a closer look at how to handle life’s ups and downs.Previous newsletters have outlined some of the coping strategies that can be used to help people deal with difficult situations and you might want to read them over once again.PART OF THE FAMILYThis week’s PART OF THE FAMILY spotlights Jamie Rehel who started attending here in 2006 and is known to many through his presence, his friendly smile and his reading the Bible during the worship service. When I approached Jamie and asked if he’d write me his journey’s story about how he got to where he is today he replied that he’d give me his story but we’d do it a little different: he’d tell his story to me and I’d write it. It seemed like a deal so here’s Jamie, his story scribed by me. JAMIE REHEL……HIS STORYJamie’s first Sunday here was on October 25th, 2006 which should tell you something about him right away: he has a phenomenal memory! I’d wager that none of us could remember exactly where we were on that day but he can and he can remember most things just as easily. People’s names, events, singer’s biggest hits, there’s not much he can’t remember so when he says he made good friends and was well treated when he started here you know he’s not just being polite because he can remember exactly what happened. Munroe Scott was the rector here when Jamie first came and they hit it off pretty good. Jamie volunteered to help Munroe with some of the jobs that needed doing around the church and the offer was gratefully accepted and soon Jamie was a regular. He’d fold bulletins, phone people to pass on things they needed to know and it wasn’t long before he was setting up appointments for Munroe, a task that most rectors need some help with. At their breaks they’d sometimes go out for coffee and he enjoyed these coffee and conversation times with Munroe. Grace Bernard connected with Jamie too and they became good friends and often did things together. She’d bring him to the church dinners, to her place to visit and he remembers attending Stan Pratt’s funeral with her, a sad day as Stan was an active, well known and friendly man who is much missed in the church’s life. Patrick McManus followed Munroe as rector and it was with his encouragement that in 2010 he began his ministry as a lector in the worship service using the church’s new Braille Bible. As is right for everyone Jamie’s church participation isn’t all about giving, sometimes it involves receiving too. He appreciates it when he is included in the prayers and is also pleased to get help at the coffee hour which ensures he gets some of his favorite goodies.-2-Jamie has never been able to see and was educated mainly at the W. Ross McDonald school for the blind in Brantford from 1975 to 1990. One of the most valuable things he learned there was to use a braille machine which people tend to think of as being like a typewriter but it is very different. It has six keys and a space bar and is a manual machine and Jamie worked at it and became very proficient. “I’m fast” he told me. “I can really move it along.” Later in high-school he learned to use a typewriter and after that a computer with a voice synthesizer. Right now he is using technology and the skills he has acquired to learn to read the printed word and knowing Jamie it won’t be long before he can “really move along” with that too. The school’s motto is: “The Impossible is Only the Untried” and Jamie certainly lives that motto.When younger Jamie learned to build with Lego and later started working with a Geomag Proset which uses a system of magnetized rods and steel spheres to design and build models which he enjoys doing. He’s also a prolific volunteer and has helped out at Heart and Stroke, at the General Hospital when it was on Queen St., The Sault St. Marie Museum, Group Health, The Lung Association and at the Moose Hall among other places where he’s done everything from stuffing envelopes and shredding confidential paper waste to cutting French fries for the Moose dinners. In 2000 he took a class at the CNIB and learned to cook which is always nice to know, especially when like Jamie you enjoy good food. Jamie introduced me to THE ROADHOUSE when we went for lunch and I can see why it’s one of his favorite spots. The food was really good, the price was very reasonable and everybody working there knew Jamie and I felt like I’d just walked onto the set of CHEERS where “everybody knows your name”. I’ve been back there since then and now “everybody knows my name” too. Good score Jamie!Like most people Jamie is staying at home right now and when I asked what he liked on TV was impressed with his eclectic tastes and the fact that I knew most of the shows and enjoyed them too. Heartland, Jeopardy, Sanford and Son, Murdock Mystery, Match Game, Twenty Words or Less and Highway to Heaven where just some of what he watches and like me he likes the older ones best. He also likes vacation times and fondly remembers a couple of weeks in Cancun Mexico with his parents where he enjoyed the warmth, the swimming and the friendly outgoing people that he met. In summer he often goes to the St. Joseph Centre for the Blind by Parry Sound for some “camp time” where he swims, enjoys the camp experience and reconnects with friends from former years. My final question to Jamie was: “What’s your dream? If you could have anything you wanted happen what would it be?” He didn’t hesitate. “To see!” he replied. “But my second one is close to it. To have this virus go away.” Amen to that, brother Jamie. Amen to that!SOMETHING NEW We’re taking the plunge and trying a live stream service for next Sunday April 26th at our regular time of 10:30 am. To see this marvel happen go to the Emmaus Facebook page and watch it live or see in taped later. As with most other churches and organizations that have tried this there will probably be some glitches but we will persevere and sooner or later have the bugs ironed out and a well-oiled Emmaus machine operating.So don’t miss the premiere production of ONLINE SERVICE AT EMMAUS next Sunday at 10:30 am. (To get the full Emmaus Sunday Worship experience make yourself sandwiches cookies and a pot of coffee to enjoy after service is over. A big thanks to Kim and Dan for that idea!) CONTACT EMMAUS CHURCH AT705-759-2545Church e-mail: emmausanglicanssm@Bob’s e-mail: carricou96@-3-KICKING AND SCREAMINGWhen I started at Emmaus last July I tried my best to hide the fact that I was a Neanderthal when it came to many modern technologies. I didn’t quite believe that civilization reached its pinnacle when the Romans invented indoor plumbing but almost. I certainly did believe that the inventor of the cell phone has a special place of honour reserved for him in hell because he has cost more people salvation than all the seven deadly sins put together! So I hid my ignorance and tried to get by on good looks and charm alone. For some reason that didn’t work out. Emmaus church has some really hardnosed wardens who were impervious to my wiles, upbraided me for my lack of tech knowledge and insisted that I get a cell phone. “We need to be able to get hold of you period!” they said and it wasn’t open to debate. As a sop they bought me the phone and the church pays the bill but I would willingly have paid the same amount to not have a cell phone ….until the virus hit. Now I’m wondering what people do who don’t have one because these sure are the right times to be electronically connected. Let me give you an example.The other day a friend who was unable to go herself needed a small appliance from Canadian Tire. “I’ll get it” I reassured her. “Easy peasy, it’s right on my way!” I knew you couldn’t go into Canadian Tire but I’d read the sign on the door and knew you could phone and they’d bring it out to you. I drove up to the store, called them on my cell phone, told them what I wanted and was told that my order would go to the cashier and she’d phone me and get my charge card number and my order would be brought out. I sat there like a dweeb for a long time waiting for the call and figuring I’d done something wrong (stupid cell-phone) I got out of the car and shouted over to an employee who was running orders out to people’s cars. That’s when I learned that you place your order and go until they get to you which could take a while since a lot of people are waiting for stuff. Home I went and an hour and a half later I got the call, gave my credit card number and was told to come to their parking lot when it was handy for me and call the number posted on the sign and they’d bring my order out. I drove up, called the number and after many rings got a recording and left them a message saying I was in the parking lot. I sat there like a dweeb as considerable time passed and figuring I’d done something wrong (stupid cell-phone) I called again and got the same message recording. I tried several times and then got out of the car and shouted over to an employee heading for a parked car who told me that I needed to speak to a live person when I called in so keep trying. Eventually I got one, told them my name and where I was and shortly after was on my way with my new purchase beside me on the passenger seat. It wasn’t easy peasy but it was doable…if you had a cell-phone. It also helps if you realize that the pace of life has also changed dramatically and there is no such thing now of popping into the store for a minute to pick up a few items. Much more of our time is being spent getting what we need and I believe that isn’t going to change for a while. So I’m not so down on the guy who invented cell-phones these days. I’m not fond of him but like many things I’m not fond of that make me have to change he did come up with something useful and dare I say critical for these times. His Voodoo doll with the pins in it has been retired replaced by one for the Casino that e-mails me fifty times a day to come and claim my prize. THINGS THAT MADE US SMILE THIS WEEKMy dog refusing to go for a walk this week because he’d already been walked ten times and was beat.Hearing the “brake squealers” on my car go off, booking it into the dealer’s for servicing, wondering how big a second mortgage we’d need to take out to pay for it and being told that a stone caught in the mechanism made all the noise and in fact the brakes were like new and needed nothing. My thirteen year old grandson’s entrepreneurial skills in putting together a games night at his house and charging the family five dollars to come and take part. His mother’s objection that she didn’t have five dollars was beautifully handled with: “You can e-transfer it to me!” That kid will be a millionaire one day and they had a great evening. Finding a Little Free Library where you help yourself to any book you find in near where I live and discovering that it had a new JACK REACHER book that I hadn’t read. Bonus!-4- ................
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