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15 | W aterloo C hronicle | T hursday,D ecem ber 20,2018 w aterloochronicle.ca Christmas Worship Directory December 24 - Christmas Eve Masses: 5:00pm (family), 9:00pm December 25 - Christmas Day Masses: 9:30am and 11:30am All are welcome to come and celebrate the birth of our Saviour Celebrate with us at St. Louis Roman Catholic Church 53 Allen St. E., Waterloo 519.743.4101 www.saintlouisparish.ca Please join us for LESSONS & CAROLS Christmas Day at 10:30 am and CAROLS OF CHRISTMAS Sunday, December 30th at 10:30 am Waterloo Christian Reformed Church 209 Bearinger Rd. Waterloo (at Parkside Dr.) www.waterloocrc.org Emmanuel United Church 22 Bridgeport Road West, Waterloo (corner of Bridgeport & Dorset) Dec 24 - Inter-generational Christmas Eve Service at 7 pm Dec 24 - Candlelight, Communion and Carols at 11 pm All are welcome and affirmed. Come celebrate the joy of Christmas at St. Agnes Roman Catholic Church 75 Bluevale St. N. Waterloo Monday, Dec. 24 - Christmas Eve 6:00 pm Christmas Eve Mass with Christmas Pageant Arrive early for carols with the Folk & Children's Choirs 11:00 pm Christmas Eve Mass, carols at 10:40 with Sanctuary Choir Tuesday, Dec. 25 - Christmas Day 10:00 am (No 7:00 pm Mass) Monday, Dec. 31 - New Year's Eve 5:00 pm Holy Mass Tuesday, January 1, 2019 - New Year's Day Feast of Mary, Mother of God andWorld Day of Prayer for Peace 10:00 am (No 7:00 pm Mass) Christmas at First United Church 16William St. W. (at King) Waterloo December 23 10:30 am Advent IV: Love December 24 5:00 pm Family Christmas Eve service with Jr Choir & Youth Ensemble 7:30 pm Traditional Christmas Eve service with Handbell Choir 11:00 pm Candlelight Communion service with Gallery Choir December 30 10:30 am Celebrating the Gift of a New Year Christmas at St. Michael's Church Waterloo Christmas Eve Monday, December 24th Christmas Mass for Young Families with Pageant 4:30 p.m. Mass for Christmas Eve 7:00 p.m. Midnight Mass 12:00 Midnight Christmas Carols are sung before each liturgy Christmas Day Tuesday, December 25th 9:00 a.m. & 11:00 a.m. twitter.com/StMikesWaterloofacebook.com/StMikesWaterloo Corner of University Ave. W. and Hemlock St. www.stmichaelw.ca 519.884.9311 I can't go to North Bay without visiting the city's Sports Hall of Fame. And so last week, on our trip to North Bay with the Kitchener Rangers, I paid my annual visit to the Hall of Fame. I go there to read about the ac- complishments of Father Michael Cundari. The North Bay native is recognized for being "a fine all-around athlete, reaching a high level of proficiency in fastball, track and football." Fa- ther Cundari, the plaque goes on to say, he was also "much greater than the sum of his parts ... imbu- ing athletes with a philos- ophy of life and sport that stood them in good stead throughout life." Even though I've never been much of an athlete, I can attest to that last part. Father Cundari would be transferred from North Bay to Kitchener, and our paths would cross at St. Jerome's High School in the mid-1980s, where Father Cundari was the principal. We knew him simply as Father Mike. Tragically, in Novem- ber of 1986, Father Mike was killed in a crash in- volving a drunk driver. Despite having only been at the school for one year and two months, I was profoundly impacted by the loss of my high school principal. To this day, I re- member lessons I learned from Father Mike in even the short time I knew him. One of his philosophies focused on problem-solv- ing. Father Mike insisted it was a three-step pro- cess: name it, claim it, and tame it. First you identify the problem, next acknowledge it as your own, and only then can you begin the work of solving it. Trust me, it sounds easier than it actually is. But it's a philosophy I've followed into my adult life and I firmly believe it has stood me in good stead. Father Mike was also not shy to challenge you when he thought your fo- cus was too inward, and he was critical of those who drew too much atten- tion to themselves. I can only imagine what he thought of my spiked hairdo in high school (yes, I had hair) and I've reflected often on these teachings about hu- mility as I've moved through life (and, per- haps deservedly, lost my hair). Last month, just days after the 32nd anniversa- ry of Father Mike's pass- ing, the District 8 Athletic Association held a cere- mony to announce that the senior boys football Most Valuable Player Award would be renamed The Father Mike Award. Father Mike's nephew says he hopes the award "will inspire athletes to become leaders in sport, to win with humility and to embrace losing with the pride of giving their all." Winning with dignity and losing with pride was Father Mike's motto and I see a lot of that in Kitche- ner Rangers head coach Jay McKee. Last Thursday, McKee's Rangers suffered an OHL loss in North Bay. But with that loss coming on a sheet of ice that's mere metres from Father Mike's plaque in the Sports Hall of Fame, I like to think our team lost with the pride of giving it their all. Kitchener Post col- umnist Mike Farwell is a broadcaster, MC and advocate. Follow him on Twitter @farwell_WR or connect with him via Mike.Farwell@rci.rog- ers.com. REMEMBERING FATHER MIKE CUNDARI OPINION 'WINNING WITH DIGNITY AND LOSING WITH PRIDE,' RECALLS MIKE FARWELL MIKE FARWELL Column