The Church Sponsored by the WHITBY MINISTERIAL ASSOCIATION By REV. IVAN R. DYER »Pastor, St. Thomas' Anglican Church Have you ever heard this prayer before? God grant me the serenlty to accept the thlngs I cannot change, the courage to change the things 1 can, and the wlsdom to know the difference This simple, prayer was written by a well educated: American theologlan, Reinhold, Niebuhr (1892-1971)ï who taught at Union Semlngry in New York CIty. Niebuhr's main concern as a theologlan was what he called 'vital prophetie Chrlstianity' and'bis' concern' was the relationshlp of the Christian experlence to lite and culture in its mani- fold expressions. This prayer, whlch is used by many lncluding Alcoholics Anonymous, 18 a prayer about acceptan- ce: learning to accept the areas of, lite we should ac- cept and thoee that we cannot. Along with. Ibis theme of acceptance this prayer talks about change: about the thlns that we cannot change and the tlg we cmn change. WhenI think cf these two th~es 1 thlnk "of the w omnan who made the com- ment to ber priest who was in the midst of introduc- ing chançe mbt the congregation: "I don't belleve in change, even when I know that it is for the bett er."1 Now there's a woman who couldn't accept change!1 Nlebuhr's prayer begins by stating that there are areas of life that we cannot change and therefore we must ha wiling<baccept -themn. Niebuhr picked bis words carefully when he used this fascinabing word 'serenity' which is a word that comn'es from the Latin word serenus and it meâns clear,, fair, bright, and serene. So what we. are asking from God is a faibh that is cai and one that does not cloud the issues from us but gives us the courage to face the realities of lite. It could ha the death of a loved one, an incurable disease,,or a physical or emotional handicap.' We can find hope in the words of Jesus 10 St. Paul: "My grace is ail ou need; power cornes to its full sbrength in weakness."Y St. Paul replies: "Hence I arn well content, for Christ's sake, with weakness, con- teptprsecution, hiar dship, and frustration; -for when I arn weak, then Iarn strong." Along wibth the accepting of things we cannot change is the need to pray for c ourage to change the things that we can. Ail of our lives we are faced with situations that need radical change and otten limes we think thal they are so deep rooled; that il te someone else's business; that tIb is tehe way il has always exisled ... we forgel that instead of being part of the complacency - we can ha part of the solu- tion. .Courage te what we need most in Ihis comforlable world of ours - to stand up and ha counbed and ha part of the transformation. God has always needed such men and women throughout hlstory. Where would we have been wlthoul Joan cf Arc, William Wllberforce, Elizabeth Fry, Lord Shalsfbury, Jose- phine Butler, and Martin Luther King Jr? The op- position 10 teach one of them *was tremendous but they prayed for courage, refused to give up, and in the end bruth had tbe final way. So Niebuhr's prayer says Ihat we need serenlty for the things we cannot change and courage for the things thal we can change; but the question is ho'w are we to know the difference between the two? Thal is why there is a Ihird substance Ibs prayer asks for and that is wisdom. The dictionary des- cribes wisdorn as "the quality of haing wise; good judgemnent; haing intormed" 1 halieve thal Niebuhr was talking about lwo kinds of wisdomns corning together. The first kind of wisdom is a wisdom thal comes through learning. A wtedom that cornes through experience, through reading, and through careful refleclion. The other klnd of wisdom, and, one needs both, te what St. James cails "the wisdorn from above", for ilte sa heavenly, not a humanfaculty and unfortunately not enough people are in search of this much needed wlsdom. But'St.. James pleas us'te search for this -wlsdomn and not ha content wlth lite unW l' we. do flnd it and most of ail he says that we should pray for it because " Iff any of you fafls short in wisdom, he should ask God for lb and It wlil ha given him, for God te a generéous giver,.who neitherrefuses nor reproaches anyone."Y So may we ail pray: God Grant us theaserenity to, accept the bhings we cannot change, the courage to change the things wecan, and the courage to know the difference. Amen. ALZHEIMER MEETING' Th e Alzheimer Socieby.of Durham Re- gion will ha holding a general meeting on April 21 at 7:30 p.m. aI the Oshawa General Hospital, 'James A. Thornton Day Hospital Wing, 24 Alma Street, Oshawa. This meeting will ha an open forum meeting and members and the public are wel- corne 10 attend. For fur- ther information, please eall 725-1562 or 725-805. HOCKEY REGISTRATION Brooklin-Whitby Mi- nor Hockey Association early hockey registra- lion will again ha held tbis -spring on Salurday, j April 16 aI Iroquois ,Park Arena from 9 a.m. tôo1P.m. Register- now and avoid the fail rush and aI possible increase in tees for the 1983-84 hockey. seson. One player registration:- $90. Two player registrations $140. More than bwo 21g uda t Eo . 1O63 i ce S.S Whi'byOshaw WHITBY FREE PRESS, WEDNESDAY APRIL 13, 1983,,PAGE 7 BENEFIT CONCERT The Ajax-Pickerlng- Whilby Association for the Mentally Retarded will hold a benefit con- cert Friday, April 22 at 8 p.m. at Harwood Secondary School in Ajax. The IBM choir wil sing selections from well-known musicals such as Okahoma and Anne of Green Gables. Admission is $3 for aduits and $1.50 for senior cilizens* and children. Door prizes will ha drawn. Ail pro- ceeds wiil support ýsum- mer programs in the community for the men- tally retarded. CalI 6W3- 9112 for tickets. RIGHT TO LIFE The Durham Right to Lite Association wiJl hold a metngo Tues- daY, April 19 at 7:30 p.m. in Room 2 of the Whltby Municipal Build- ingon Rossland Road. The proposed Walk for Lite on Sunday, May 1i at 2' p.m., from Oshawa City Hall to and around Oshawa General Hospital- and back to City Hall, will ha dis- eussed., Everyone is welcome to parbicipate. For fur- ther infoprnation please cail 668-7911 or 723-3264. GENERAL MEETING The Canadian Cyslic Fibrosis Foundallon, Durham Chapter, will hold a general meeting on Monday, Aprîl 18 at 8 p.m. in the Whitby Public Library. Anyone lnterested Is welcome. For more in- formation, contact Bon- nie Edwards at 668-2951. St John Ambulance PARENT'S CLUB The DurhamRegion Parents 6f Multiplesý Club te holding a child- ren's clothing- sale, April 23 at 10 a.m. at Centennial United Church. 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