Close to nature is close to God ON MARCH 17 ‘we celebrated StPatrick’s Day, We wore green, listened to Irish melodies, and heard how Patrick tid Iretand of its snakes. If we were extremely lucky we even heard that Patrick ‘is the Patron Saint of Ireland, How many of us will have remem- bered: that on March 1 parts of the Christian © tradition commemorated St.David, the Patron Saint of Wales? Other than both of these com- memoralions occurred'in March, what _.d0, these: celebrations have .in .com- mon? These two sainls were part of a _ church community that-is known: to church history as the Celtic Church. ‘The Celtic Church that found its roots in Ireland, Scotland ‘and Wales engaged in missionary activity to En- gland. and to parts of Westem Europe as the Roman Empire disintegrated. ~ As the Roman Church regained its strength the Celtic Chureh lost“its: in- fluence and by 604 had been com- pletely absorbed in the Roman Church. in England, One of the strengths of the Celtic Church was ils emphasis on learning and especially on the study of scrip- View Point lure. The creation of illuminated man- uscripts as exemplified in The Book of Kells is only possible by people who revered the Word of God, The monastic ‘life of the Celtic Church was less rigid than that ex- emplified - by the later’ Western -Monastic orders, [t is said that it was not unusual for @ monk to leave a monastery during the summer to live the life of a hermit on an isolated rock off the coast, and to give themselves to contemplation, until the winter winds made life so unconifortable that they: returned to the comfort of the monastery, “We have heard the seemingly mythi- “cal accounts of the voyages. of the ‘Trish monk Brendan to North Amer- ica, ‘This ‘was in keeping with Celtic understanding that they lived in exile and were to engage in pilgrimage for the sake of Christ. Pilgrimages could. be made to nearby holy places such as lona, Lindistarne, Armagh or to the tradi- Uonal holy places of Jerusalem and Rome or to remate places Such as the Faroes or Iceland. The Celts, living among the rugged beauty of Ireland, Scotland and Wales, well understood that God was present in all of nature. Their only Levi’s Orange Tab Jean Straight Le reg. $49.98 Men’s Work Socks 13 Pack Ze + rep. $10.98 °°? sf possible response was to praise a God who created such beauty and wonder, But the Celts understood that God was active in the events of daily exis- tence — gelting up in the moming, going to bed, meals, chopping wood for the fire — and their response could only be one of gratitude to The One who made their life possibic, We so-called modems have much to learn from Patrick and David and from others in the Celtic Church as we rediscover what it means to be faithful Christians in an age which is redis- cavering the importance of nature to our survival as humans. The views expressed in the above ar- ticle are those of the writer, and not necessarily the views of this newspa- per. Work Gloves Entire Selection 20% of f Lee Stonewashed Jean Jacket reg. $52.98 ~ Men's 100% || Cotton Coveralls 36-46 Reg. * reg, $39.98 40-46 Tall reg. $44,968 48-52 Tall yen aa) reg. $49.98 Notes from the legion By PETER CROMPTON Branch 13 IF YOU'VE missed a few legion meetings this year, April Y is your chance to cateh up on legion happenings. For those of you who aren’t familiar with the legion’s activities, here's a bit of an overview, . Many of the legion’s fundraising activily is used to improve life for people in your community include. M@ Providing assistance to needy ex- service members and their families, m@ Purchasing medical equipment: and appliances for community health m@ Paying for bursaries for needy stu- dents. @ Providing support services to senior citizens (Meals on Wheels, drop-in centres, etc.), For example, the branch has just donated $3,000 to Meals on Wheels here in Terrace. If you wish for more information regarding our poppy fund or help with . pensions, etc., please give our service officer, Cmde Dereck Hales, a call at 635-5623 or at the Legion, 635-5825. - Don't forget steak nights, and your general meetings. See you in the branch. Rubbercaulk Soft Toe S$ e. reg. $115.98 4 y Boots by Acton Store Hours facilities. @ Paying for medical research and training. For those who still have not paid your 1996 dues, come on, it's getting late and we need’ your support. Mon, - Sat. ‘30 am -6pm & ; Fri. ‘til 9pm ok Pe Bet Sea ee ee we ee ee m Building affordable housing for veterans and senior citizens. Lest we forget. ( e Box 22, P IMPROVING Terrace, B.C, Major Credit Cards YOUR Accepted i Rabe vac aa —_Aecried " yearr | AGAINST Marjorie Park tex deductible. The kiss of FOUNDATION CANADA ; 638-1167 DEATH. BRITISH COLUMBIA LUNG ASSOCTATION Baw 34008. Scition fy Viricomven, AC. Ve dAi2 \ Phone: -ROQ-08S LENG Your In Memoriam gift is a lasting tribute. Please send your donation to the address above, along with the name and address and the name and address of the next-of- kin, for an acknowledgement card. #1 KILLER to do next? price range, TENANTS Do you need a place to rent? Have you answered ads only to find the rental was rent- ed out last week? Are you frustrated? Don’t know what CALL US. The Terrace Housing. Registry will work hard to find you somewhere to rent. We will provide your rental application to landlords when. something comes available. We will look for what you need within your We also provide the following services: Sun. 12-5pm TW? Schools are turning out studeuts who can’t read. AUT. Surprise. A 1995 International study showed a that Canada is a highty literate country, and is becoming nore so all the time. In fact Canadiaus 16 to 24 years-old are tivice as likely to score highly on literacy tests thant those in the 56 fo 65 age group. : | - matching landlords & tenants ; Our Public Education system is open to all students, - workshops & advice about Residential Tenancy Law No child j is excluded regardless of race, income, ee. m “ Mave invmove out inspections or oF special needs. Our teachers, , along with education support ° + mediation | a - assistance with Tenancy Agreements workers and other key resources, provide not r - assistance from the Tenancy Advocate “only the basics’ but an expanding body of knowledge to help f | prepare our children i ror a changing world. ; Ifyou aren t yet registered with us, 1 YOu haven't looked Our neighborhood schools are HOW under r attack from f everywhere! ae rr nee a often misinformed sources, Vital funding and resources ~ Do Phone: 635-4044 hang in the balance. Public Education is worth suppocang. _ Get the real story. Call the British Colunibia t Teachers’ 7 ALL Fede ration at I-800- 603- 9163 or write us at 7 ##100-550 West 6th Ave.,Vancouver, B.C, VSZ 4P2, to S E RVI C ES e-mail: pbalango@betf.be.ca ft AR E FR E Fe Home page: http://www. betfbe.ca/betf : OF e : CHARGE r BECAUSE WE TRUK THE WORLD OF DUB CHILDREN te This project was made pasetble through funding from the mos Community Housing Initiatives campanents of HOMES BE “iw. | an datdative of the Wtinistry of Fauceing Reereatian and Consumer Services