55^TH ANNUAL CONFERENCE

SPONSORED BY

 THE BROTHERHOOD OF ANGLICAN CHURCHMEN

IN CHRIST  THERE IS NO EAST OR WEST

A Musical Conference for Everyone

April 22-23-24, 2005

Deanery of Essex

**All sites are handicap accessible

For further information contact Paul White at l.paul.white@sympatico.ca

 

Membership Report, March, 2005

At the time of writing this, there are 423 members of the various chapters who have paid their membership dues for 2005.  Based on last year=s registration, that leaves 93 members still to pay.  I would encourage you to get your registration in as soon as you can.  As you know, this is the only income the Diocesan Executive Council has for expenses.  Registration and payment of dues is also required to be able to vote on issues at the Annual Meeting on April 23^rd.  I hope that you have registered for the conference by now!

The following chapters are registered:

St. Paul=s, Port Dover             Trinity, Simcoe              St. James=, Westminste
Trinity, Lambeth                     Trinity, St. Thomas               Church of the Ascension
St. Aidan=s, Windsor              St. Barnabas=, Windsor        St. Mary=s, Walkerville
St. Paul=s, Clinton                  Canon Davis Memorial         St. George=s, Sarnia
St. John=s, Sarnia             St. Paul=s, Point Edward      St. George=s, London
St. James=, Ingersoll          Christ Church, Meaford        St. Thomas=, Owen Sound
All Saints=, Waterloo              Holy Trinity, London             Old St. Paul=s Woodstock
Members at Large

This above list is Aas of@ March 8, 2005.  By the time you read this, I am sure that others will have registered.  I am sorry that they cannot be included in this list.

For the past three years, that I have been membership chair, we have remained steady between 500 & 550 members.  However, I know that there are more men=s groups and BACs in the Diocese that we need to encourage to join us.  I heard from Ron Bolohan that he was part of a ABAC@ in the Church of the Advent in Ridgetown.  Does anyone know anything about this group?  I would encourage any brotherhood members who know of other groups or chapters to let a member of the executive know so we can contact them to see if they are interested in joining the Diocesan Chapter.

I look forward to seeing you at the conference in Windsor.

Yours in Brotherhood with Christ.  Remember W. U. G. L. E.

Francis Richardson
Membership Chair
Diocesan Executive Committee

 

DID YOU KNOW?
If you are reading this "on-line", you can skip this section!

THE BAC HAS A WEB SITE!

HAVE YOU EVER CHECKED IT OUT?

Links to other BAC web pages

I would encourage you to check out some of these pages. There might be information there of interest to you. See what other chapters there are in the diocese; check out the church=s web site, if it has one. Check out AUpcoming Events@ and APast Events@. Do you have events you would like to put there? Contact me with the information. Are there other pages you would like to have on the site? Let me know. Does your BAC have a web site? Would you like to link to ours? Let me know.

Francis Richardson

frichardson@rogers.com    519-538-5998

 

 

A Little Lenten Humour

One Sunday late in Lent a Sunday School teacher decided to ask her class what they remembered about Easter.  The first little fellow suggested was when all the family comes to the house and they eat a big turkey dinner and watch football. The teacher suggested that perhaps he was thinking of Thanksgiving, not Easter, so she let e little girl answer.  She said Easter was the day when you come down the stairs in the morning you see all the beautiful presents under the tree.  At this point, the teacher was really feeling discouraged.  But after explaining that the little girl was probably thinking about Christmas, she called upon a lad with his hand tentatively raised in the air.  Her spirits immediately perk up as the boy says that Easter is the time when Jesus was crucified and buried.  She felt she had gotten through to at least one child until he added,@And then He comes out of the grave and if he sees His shadow we have six more weeks of winter@.

 

Wisdom from Grandpa .......

Whether a man winds up with a nest egg, or a goose egg, depends a lot on the kind of chick he marries.

Trouble in marriage often starts when a man gets so busy earnin' his salt, that he forgets his sugar.

Too many couples marry for better, or for worse, but not for good.

When a man marries a woman, they become one; but the trouble starts when they try to decide which one.

If a man has enough horse sense to treat his wife like a thoroughbred, she will never turn into an old nag.

On anniversaries, the wise husband always forgets the past - but never the present.

A foolish husband says to his wife, "Honey, you stick to the  washin', ironin', cookin', and scrubbin'. No wife of mine is gonna work."

The bonds of matrimony are a good investment, only when the interest is kept up.

Many girls like to marry a military man or a policeman- he can cook, sew, and make beds, and is in good health, and he's already used to taking orders

Eventually you will reach a point when you stop lying about your age, and start bragging about it.

The older we get, the fewer things seem worth waiting in line for.

Some people try to turn back their odometers. Not me, I want people to know why I look this way. I've travelled a long way and some of the roads weren't paved.

How old would you be if you didn't know how old you are?

When you are dissatisfied and would like to go back to your youth....

Remember about Algebra.

You know you are getting old, when everything either dries up, or leaks.

I don't know how I got over the hill without getting to the top.

One of the many things no one tells you about aging is that it is such a nice change from being young.

Ah, being young is beautiful, but being old is comfortable.

Old age is when former classmates are so gray and wrinkled and bald, they don't recognize you.

If you don't learn to laugh at trouble, you won't have anything to laugh at when you are old.

Have a GREAT day.......and keep Laughing

Here is a great story sent in by a reader to start your week off on the right foot: 

 

A voyaging ship was wrecked during a storm at sea and only two of the men on it were able to swim to a small, desert-like island. The two survivors, not knowing what else to do, agreed that they had no other recourse but to pray to God.   However, to find out whose prayer was more powerful, they agreed to divide the territory between them and stay on opposite sides of the island. 

The first thing they prayed for was food. The next morning, the first man saw a fruit-bearing tree on his side of the land, and he was able to eat its fruit. The other man's parcel of land remained barren. After a week, the first man was lonely and he decided to pray for a wife.

The next day, another ship was wrecked, and the only survivor was a woman who swam to his side of the land. On the other side of the island, there was nothing. Soon the first man prayed for a house, clothes, more food.  

The next day, all of these were given to him.  However, the second man still had nothing.  Finally, the first man prayed for a ship, so that he and his wife could leave the island.   In the morning, he found a ship docked on his side of the island.  The first man boarded the ship with his wife and decided to leave the second man on the island. He considered the other man unworthy to receive God's blessings, since none of his prayers had been answered. 

As the ship was about to leave, the first man heard a Voice from heaven booming, "Why are you leaving your companion on the island?"  

"My blessings are mine alone, since I was the one who prayed for them," the first man answered. "His prayers were all unanswered and so he does not deserve anything!"  

"You are mistaken!" the Voice rebuked him. "He had only one prayer, which was answered. If not for that, you would not have received any of My blessings."  

"Tell me," the first man asked the Voice, "What did he pray for that I should owe him anything?"  

"He prayed that all your prayers be answered."  

For all we know, our blessings are not the fruits of our prayers alone, but those of another praying for us!  

God Bless You!  

GREETINGS FROM AFGHANISTAN

 

My name is Kent Greer, a member of the Canadian Forces, normally living in the Parish of Christ Church, Meaford.  I am currently deployed to Kabul, Afghanistan as part of Canada=s contribution to the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), the NATO effort to provide stability and security in this war-torn country.

Afghanistan is about the size of Alberta, yet has a population about the same as Canada=s.  Kabul, the capital, is has roughly the same population as Toronto.  Most of Afghanistan is mountainous.  The country is landlocked, bordered by Iran, Pakistan, China and several former Soviet republics.  Kabul is located near the Pakistani border at about six thousand feet above sea level.

Conditions here in Camp Julien are a little primitive.  We live, work and eat in tents.  My bedspace is six feet by eight feet. The food is pretty good, however, and the laundry is fast and free.  There are several activities to keep us healthy and happy. Civilian workers from Canada, Nepal and the local population work very hard to make life a little easier for us and the soldiers from other nations that also live here.  The best part of Camp Julien is the view B the King=s Palace is on one side of us and the Queen=s Palace is on the other.  Both of these are magnificent but ruined reminders of the peaceful past.  In the background are mountains and behind them more mountains.  My camera is working overtime to capture all the scenery.

Conditions for the local inhabitants are atrocious.  One drive through downtown convinced me of that.  You can=t imagine the squalor and hardship that these people endure daily.  Temperatures overnight lately (mid-February) have dipped as low as minus 17 Celsius.  Nearly every tree in Afghanistan has been cut down for firewood and dung is often used to supplement the fuel supply.  A haze of pollution hangs over the city.  There are no sewers and wells have gone dry with 10 years of drought.  Almost every building is damaged by bombs and neglect but people are forced to live in the ruins.  Most people have only one suit of clothes, one pair of shoes and no socks.  Only the rich children can attend school.  Reconstruction is beginning, but the task is immense.  So far, only the very rich or foreign government agencies live in new buildings. 

ISAF is here to provide security.  Without an armed presence from other countries, the government would either collapse or be at the mercy of the various private armies led by warlords.  ISAF is not here on a humanitarian mission.  To try to make things better for the people here, a humanitarian club has operated here since Camp Julien was constructed.  Right now, the humanitarian club is supporting a school, an orphanage and providing funds to get wells drilled or reconstructed.  A refugee camp will soon be moved near here from downtown with about 4000 people living under tarps without any electricity, water or sewage.  The humanitarian club will try to help those people as well.

The school we support is supposedly a girl=s school but many boys attend as well.  So many kids (about 6500) attend that school is taught in three shifts.  Classrooms are tents, children sit on the floor and the teachers use chalkboards that are at least thirty years old.  Most children have no paper or pens.  During the next six months, the club will provide funding for construction of classrooms, as well as buying and refurbishing desks.

After thirty years of war, the number of orphans here is astounding.  The orphanage is overcrowded and understaffed.  Basic needs like blankets, clothing and food are constantly in short supply or entirely lacking.

Most of the money and goods that the club donates comes from the soldiers and civilian staff here in Camp Julien.  There is a way you can help too.  Donations can be mailed to me at the address below and I will make sure that whatever I receive is distributed.  Money is the best thing to send B by money order since it takes months for cheques to clear.  Donations of clothing especially shoes and jackets, school supplies, sheets and blankets will be gladly received and distributed as soon as possible, although that may be several months after mailing.  Money orders and parcels are mailed to Belleville so postage is not expensive.  The military will then ship it to me on military aircraft.  Items must be mailed to me because packages that are not personally addressed will not be shipped (except postcards addressed to AAny Canadian Soldier@).  Packages must not weigh more than 20 kg.  Remember money orders are very light.

Money is the only thing that will get wells drilled here.  In addition, money can be spent in the local economy thus helping this poorest nation in Asia to recover from the devastation of war.  Money is also easy to transport and to store.  Money goes farther here than in Canada so if you send anything, money is the best.   Income tax receipts are not available at the moment, so if you want to make a donation larger than $10, I suggest you donate through the Huron Hunger Fund.  Money orders MUST be made out to the Receiver-General of Canada and the memo portion MUST read Camp Julien Humanitarian Fund.

Please make sure that all money orders and packages are mailed by 1 July 2005.  I am only here for six months and mail takes up to four weeks to arrive.  If a package shows up after I am gone, it may or may not be shipped back to me in Meaford.  I would encourage ACW and BAC chapters especially to send a small donation to spread the love of Christ to those most in need.

My address is a little complicated, so I suggest you cut it out of this newspaper and paste right onto the envelope or package.  I will send an update in a couple of months to let everyone know what the humanitarian club has accomplished.

My address is:

877 MCpl Greer RKD
NSE Log Ops
Task Force Kabul Roto 3
PO Box 5006 Stn Forces
Belleville ON  K8N 5W6