Prayer Breakfast at Pinestone brings public servants/ministers together
Saturday, January 16, 2010 by S. Perry-Ettel
A recent Prayer Breakfast at the Pinestone Resort and Conference Centre proved an amazing coming-together of ‘servants’, both from many area churches and various levels of government.
The horrendous earthquake in Haiti had just happened the day before. Barry Devolin, Member of Parliament for Haliburton-Kawartha Lakes-Brock since 2004, fought back tears as he related, and relayed so well, his heart-hurt over the devastation in that already messed-up country. How can a country with no existing infrastructure or effective government even begin to deal with such calamity?
The juxtaposition of our many levels of mostly-effective government with Haiti’s, the ability to deal with disaster on any scale when it happens, was further underlined by Glen Duncan of Peterborough in his keynote address.
Duncan, of the Kawartha Prayer Association, described the work of a Peterborough group called Church in the City. A covenant relationship between people of many different city ministries, the group has managed to serve and help in ways no one church or level of government has ever been able to.
When 20 percent of Peterborough homes were flooded in 2004, City Hall itself was flooded with calls both for help, and with offers to help. But due to liability problems, the municipal authorities weren’t able to effectively match the two – which is where Church in the City stepped in.
Duncan also drew an interesting parallel between how we Canadians name our public servants and the ministry of Jesus. The very name servants … our government ministers, our Prime Minister – the leader of the servants, really.
“So just what is the purpose of power?” Duncan asked. “Jesus, when he ‘got it’, decided the best thing to do would be to serve others.”
He explained how it could not have been that long after Jesus’ disciples got into their argument about ‘who among them was the greatest’ that the famous foot-washing scene happened. At Passover, tradition held that whoever in the group had the least status would become the designated ‘foot-washer’. But since the disciples had only recently been arguing over who among them was the greatest; obviously none would deign to wash the others’ feet. So in stepped humble servant-leader Jesus, Prime Servant, to do the job.
Hosted by the Haliburton Ministerial (comprised of the leaders of Haliburton and area churches), other guests of honour included: Murray Fearrey, Reeve for the Municipality of Dysart et al; Constable Mark McMaster of the Ontario Provincial Police Minden Detachment; Miles Maughan, Chief of the Dysart et al Fire Department; Pat Kennedy, Chief of Emergency Medical Services for Dysart et al.
Each of the church ministers attending then prayed for various aspects of the local and provincial governments and services.
Daniel Smith, pastor of the Haliburton Gospel Lighthouse, closed with a beautiful prayer for the Dysart Emergency Medical Services. He and his wife Carolina had a special connection here: their little daughter Emma had been born in a Haliburton ambulance less than two years ago! He prayed for, among other things, a breaking off of the trauma these many emergency responders must experience and no doubt often hold onto.
Collection baskets passed around gathered close to $1500, all to go to relief efforts in Haiti.
Barry Devolin talks to Pastor Daniel and Carolina Smith
The horrendous earthquake in Haiti had just happened the day before. Barry Devolin, Member of Parliament for Haliburton-Kawartha Lakes-Brock since 2004, fought back tears as he related, and relayed so well, his heart-hurt over the devastation in that already messed-up country. How can a country with no existing infrastructure or effective government even begin to deal with such calamity?
The juxtaposition of our many levels of mostly-effective government with Haiti’s, the ability to deal with disaster on any scale when it happens, was further underlined by Glen Duncan of Peterborough in his keynote address.
Duncan, of the Kawartha Prayer Association, described the work of a Peterborough group called Church in the City. A covenant relationship between people of many different city ministries, the group has managed to serve and help in ways no one church or level of government has ever been able to.
When 20 percent of Peterborough homes were flooded in 2004, City Hall itself was flooded with calls both for help, and with offers to help. But due to liability problems, the municipal authorities weren’t able to effectively match the two – which is where Church in the City stepped in.
Duncan also drew an interesting parallel between how we Canadians name our public servants and the ministry of Jesus. The very name servants … our government ministers, our Prime Minister – the leader of the servants, really.
“So just what is the purpose of power?” Duncan asked. “Jesus, when he ‘got it’, decided the best thing to do would be to serve others.”
He explained how it could not have been that long after Jesus’ disciples got into their argument about ‘who among them was the greatest’ that the famous foot-washing scene happened. At Passover, tradition held that whoever in the group had the least status would become the designated ‘foot-washer’. But since the disciples had only recently been arguing over who among them was the greatest; obviously none would deign to wash the others’ feet. So in stepped humble servant-leader Jesus, Prime Servant, to do the job.
Hosted by the Haliburton Ministerial (comprised of the leaders of Haliburton and area churches), other guests of honour included: Murray Fearrey, Reeve for the Municipality of Dysart et al; Constable Mark McMaster of the Ontario Provincial Police Minden Detachment; Miles Maughan, Chief of the Dysart et al Fire Department; Pat Kennedy, Chief of Emergency Medical Services for Dysart et al.
Each of the church ministers attending then prayed for various aspects of the local and provincial governments and services.
Daniel Smith, pastor of the Haliburton Gospel Lighthouse, closed with a beautiful prayer for the Dysart Emergency Medical Services. He and his wife Carolina had a special connection here: their little daughter Emma had been born in a Haliburton ambulance less than two years ago! He prayed for, among other things, a breaking off of the trauma these many emergency responders must experience and no doubt often hold onto.
Collection baskets passed around gathered close to $1500, all to go to relief efforts in Haiti.
Barry Devolin talks to Pastor Daniel and Carolina Smith
... certainly 'twasn't all heartache and serious prayer!
Pastor Garry Swagerman of Eagle Lake Community Church, Barry Devolin,
the Rev. Anne Moore of the Anglican Parish of Haliburton








