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8 - 'WHITCHURCH-HOUFFVILLE THIS MONTH" - See ALL YOU NEED ARE A FEW WELL-CHOSEN WORDS when l was a green and callow youth. fresh out of small-town Saskatchewan and a student at Queen's. I met a beautiful young girl from Ottawa. I had never been to Ottawa but I fancied that. being the capital. it must also be the centre of Canadian culture. It was only much later that I discovered that Ottawa was a cul- tural wasteland. with maybe one good restaurant, which was Cantonese. But I digress. Having met this beautiful girl. I wanted to impress her with my savoirâ€" [dire and, as it happened. the National Ballet of Canada, or some such organization. was coming to Kingston. They were to perform in the hockey arena. To this day I almost remember the per- formance. They did Chopin's Us Sylphides and something else. But better than that. nus Spa 89mm WI “"59”.“ «Mad '7 "0" ' expeflencedlhelmh W: WM“ so, e51! and sin are exposed for what they are, and change and reconciliation happens. , Within the Mennonite tradition. this wa/ of faithfulness to God over and againstthevurldbcdledmmdtln cm. Wemmatiljonlyin roilowlngtivew.,dtinauollltevil mammwmm. . A 4;.-9 L . The torture and suffering shown in this movieislmenseanddlawnout.somuch so. that there were times when I couldn't watchthescreen. lameawayfrom the movie wondering 'how could any human endure that much suffering; i suspect that this was Mel Gibson's intention-to show lesus as no ordinary human, For many Mennonites. lesus‘ crucifixion is not about suffering; it is about faithfulness to God's way of living. even in the midst of suffering and death. Throughout the movie, we see an intense conflict happening between G '5 way, one of nonwiolenc'e. love. em racing pain and suffering, and the way of Evil, one of violence. selfishness and supporting the corrupted religious and political systems. lesus could. at any time throughoat his life, have become like his enemies by engaging them with violent actions and responses but. in doing so, he would have sacrificed following the ways of God, Normal human response to evil is "an eye for an eye.‘ violence against violence. Iesus realized that God's way to transform Evil was to embrace the suffering “used by evil. to m on willingly'the sins of the world. in doing Since the movie, 'Passlon of the Christ." has triggered so much discussion both Inside and outside the church. I decided to experience this movielormyself. A MENNONITE PERSPECTIVE FAITH LIFE mum» ofdw C/mkt there were many despicable Roman soldiers who brutally tortured iesus. you do leave the movie with some resentment toward the iewish leaders Asarewlthanappredatewhysome reviewers see this movie as promoting anti-Semitism. i also suspect that the current antiâ€"Semitic violence that has broken out recently has its roots in this movie. Since the movie follows closely the Bible's gospel accounts. i believe we. Christians. need to be careful about how we portray and interpret stories around lesus' death. For many years now. i have refrarned Iesus' conflict with the lewish establishment In terms of iesus critiquing organized religion. Everything lesus experienced from the Jewish leaders, our early Mennonite ancestors. in the sixteenth century. experienced from the Christian church. including persecution and death. ll Christians are behind these antl‘Semltlc acts. they don't truly Understand why Iesus died on the cans. It they did. they would understand the wayofthecrosanduytofollawit. my companion was dazzled by my obvious interest in the finer things of life. Anyway. it did the trick. I have not been to the ballet since. I'm almost sorry to say. and although I said I remembered the performance. that's not quite true. What I remembered was the name of the performance. But it taught me a huge lesson, which is. to get along socially in this world. you don't actually have to know anything as long as you know some words and pronounce them correctly. For example. if ever you are trapped in a conversation where people are talking about the ballet, you adopt a humble pose and say, "Well. yes, I suppose that my favourite ballet has always been Chopin's L15 Sylphides." Then you iust shut up. Don't mention The Nutcracker or the hockey cup that the guys wear. Having sounded knowl- edgeable, don't risk everything by saying Feedback? We'd love to hear yam comments. Please contact us at; Box 95028, 5802 Main Street Stouflville, ON [AA 258 WWI-mm Gord Alton us on ‘www.stouflvilleonline.com' any more. You don't know any more. if it does happen that you know the difference between an enlrechat and an a'rabesque, so much the better. Save it for later. it doesn't hurt to have some backup. Then there is the matter of booze. Being a connoisseur of beers brings you no laurels, unless you happen to live in Bavaria. No, to have that aristocratic savoir-faire i was talking about, you need to learn the words for Scotch whisky and wines. A self-deprecating but snotty attitude doesn't 'hurt either. Did you know that in Edinburgh, in ISOS, the barbers and surgeons were given the exclusive right to make and sell whisky? That lasted until I772 when it was given to the barbers as compensation for being for- bidden to practise surgery. That's a bit of trivia to throw into the con- versations about Scotch whisky. The words you need to know are "single malt," and a few phrases like, "a subtle peatiness with- out being aggressive." or "a bit smoky with a layered finish." it doesn't matter what it means. Nobody will ask. it's also okay to The exhibit will highlight the muse- um‘s collection of watches and clocks. examine technological advances in time measurement and explore how our con- cept of time has changed since the intro- Whitchurch-Stouffville Museum duction of railway schedules and stan- unveils its 2004 exhibit. It's AboulTime. on dardized time zones. It runs until Sept. May 2 I. I0. Brand Name Ladies 69' Kids Oshkosh - babgGap - Ggmboree ‘ ‘ 'Pre-Loued Clothing At Its Best “ ‘ " 18 RINGWOOD DR., UNIT#4, 905-642â€"6415 ‘It’s about time’ unveils May 21 by Ralph Pohlman COMPUTERIZED SWING ANALYZER See what your club head is doing at impact, measure angles to correct hook or slice, check your swing speed, and MUCH MORE. F ind your game with the region ’5 NEWEST Call STEVE at PT GOLF 905-642-8529 100 RIngwood Drive, Unit 1, Stouffville throw in words like "nutty," "peppery" A few words about wine. if you get invit- ed to a wine tasting, remember to adopt a reverent demeanour. Don't weaLa baseball cap. And don't iust drink it and look around for some more. You hold it up to the light. sniff it, sort of gargle with it, before you swal- low. Then you say. "Ah, an ambitious little wine." Now, these days. it is fashionable to know something about port. Port is a "forti- fied wine" which means it has a bigger bang and it is a "dessert wine," meaning you drink it after dinner. With’ Stilton cheese. That's important. No Cheese Whiz on Ritz crackers. Y0u can use the same bafflegab for port as for other wines: Stuff like "youthful," "gutsy." or "mature nose with good length" or "very closed on the nose." Nose is a good word, although "this wine gives good nose," may be a bit crass. "lingering." Another time we'll talk about what to say at theatre or symphony intermission. The museum's newsletter also offers some timely trivia on topics temporal: "Do you know what caused the switch from pocket, watches to wrist watches? The bicycle!" L; LF Dog 4 Training MAY 2004 I \19‘