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weekender january 18 1986 p15 religion bridle trail pharmacy 16th ave unionville bypass oeuvery service available living on purpose jeaus lpatrsi sicus sinkhole syndrome the residents of a florida apartment building awoke to a terrifying sight outside their win dows the ground beneath the street in front of their building had literally collapsed creating a massive depression that flori- dians call a sinkhole tumbling into the ever- deepening pit were automobiles pavement sidewalks and lawn furniture the building itself would obviously be the next to go sinkholesoccur scientists say when underground streams drain away during seasons of drought causing the ground at the surface to lose its underlying support suddenly everything simply caves in leaving people with a frightening suspicion that nothing not even the earth beneath their feet is trustworthy there are many people whose lives are like one of florida s sink holes it is likely that at one time or another many of us have per ceived ourselves to be on the verge of a sinkhole like cavein in the feelings of numbing fati gue a taste of apparent failure or the bitter experience of disillu sionment about goals or purposes we may have sensed something within us about to give way we feel we are just a moment from a collapse that will threaten to seep our entire world into a bottomless pit sometimes there seems to be little that can be one to prevent such a collapse what is wrong it we think about it for very long we may discover the exist ence of an inner space our pri vate world if neglected this pri vate world will not sustain the weight of events and pressures that press upon it some people are surprised and disturbed when they make such a selfdiscovery they suddenly realize they ha ve spent the major ity of their time and energy estab lishing life on the visible level at the surface they have accumu lated a host of good and perhaps even excellent assets such as academic degrees work experi ence key relationships and physical strength or beauty there is nothing wrong with all of that but often it is discovered almost too late that the private world of the person is in a state of disorderliness or weakness and when that is true there is always potential for the sinkhole syn drome we must come to see ourselves as living in two very different worlds our outer or public world is easier to deal with it is much more measurable visible and expandable our outer world consists of work play posses sions and a host of acquaintances that make up a social network it is the part of our existence easiest to evaluate in terms of success popularity wealth and beauty but our inner world is more spir itual in nature here is a center in which choices and values can be determined where solitude and reflection might be pursued it is a place for conducting worship and confession a quiet spot where the moral and spiritual pollution of the times need not penetrate our public worlds are filled with a seeming infinity of de mands upon our time our loyal ties our money and our energies and because these public worlds of ours are so visible so real we have to struggle to ignore all their seductions and demands they scream for our attention and ac tion the result is that our private world is often cheated neglected because it does not shout quite so loudly it can be effectively ignored for large periods of time before it gives way to a sinkhole like cavein the florida sinkhole is a physical picture of a spiritual problem as the pressure of life grows in the decades of the 80s and 90s there will be more people whose lives resemble a sinkhole unless they gaze inward and ask themselves is there a private world beneath the noise and ac tion at the surface a world that needs to be explored and main tained can strength and resili ence be developed that will bear up under the pressure at the sur face gordon macdonald in his ex cellent book ordering your pri vate world from which this arti cle is an excerpt said i believe that one of the great battleg rounds of our age is the private world of the individual there is a contest that must be fought the sobering reality of the sink hole syndrome reminds us all that unless we keep our hidden under ground springs flowing we too are candidates for collapse editors note dave pctres- cue is senior pastor at unionville alliance church reformed criminal speaks at dinner a reformed bank robber who spent a total of 25 years in cana dian and us jails is special guest speaker at the markham full gospel businessmens dinner meeting this coming monday ernie hollands will share how he found the secret to real satis faction and meaning in life while in millhaven prison near kingston he now shares his testimony in churches high schools reforma tories and prisons and is a field representative for the full gospel businessmens organizations the meeting which begins with a fellowship time at 7 pm and dinner at 730 pm will be held at fernandos restaurant on main st markham cost is 10 per person for information call stuart harris at 64053u deeper life conference continues the unionville alliance church is presenting a deeper life con ference this weekend at several venues in the markham and un ionville area the conference will be under the direction of rev sunder krishnan and take place in three parts over the three days the conference started with the question of what really hap pened when you became a christian at the markham pen tecostal church on 16th ave east of mccowan rd on friday jan 17 part 1 continued on saturday with the mens breakfast at the parkway hotel at 1 pm today again at the markham pentecostal church a ladies luncheon will take place tickets are 4 and are available from ellen relph marjorie free man vicki holt judy lee ruth hall or blanche harper the con quest of inner space will be the topic part 2 and 3 will go on sunday jan 19 part 2 if at first you dont succeed starts at 11 am at unionville public school on main st in unionville the conference then concludes at st andrews united church on mainst in markham at 630 pm when part 3 looks at the missing element for further information con tact the unionville alliance church at 4771104 the village baptist church formerly markville baptist church worships at st matthew catholic school 75 waterbridge lane unionville 1030 am sunday nursery and junior church to age 8 pastor rev ralph d neil bsc bd 4790765 affiliation canadian baptist federation first presbyterian church of unionville worship 1 1 00 am sundays sermon series i peter rev michael goheen ba ma at heritage community centre auditorium 17 anna russel way off eureka st behind unionvilla church school sun45 am bible study wed evenings 730 pm prayer meetings sun evenings 630 pm mens fellowship alternate sat at 800 am for information call 4777497 or 4772266 nursery handicap facilities markham baptist church 110 church street opposite high school pastor rev douglas sherwood sun jan 1986 945 am bible school 1100 am the bibles view of man 630 pm how to manage your money seminar part 3 always a warm welcome affiliated with the baptist convention of onl que unionville baptist church 243 main st 4790942 dr ray reed assistant brian morris 945 am sunday school all ages 1100 am team from toronto baptist seminary 630 pm philadelphia the missionary church nursery and chilldrens program am pm unionville presbyterian church of the presbyterian church in canada 11 am sunday service william berczy public school 120 carlton road nursery care church school rev jost kreplin 4756233 centennial baptist church 8252 mccowan rd south pastor harvey peters sunday jan 19 945 am family bible school 1100 am involvement getting at the heart of the matter 700 pm a refuge in a pressure cooker world tuesday jan 21 730 pm womans ministries presents christian hospitality- proposed new building interdenominational unionville christian mens fellowship meeting saturday morning from 800 am til 1000 am january 25th at unionville baptist church 243 main st unionville rear entrance fellowship hall purpose to provide leadership training improve study skills evangelism training practical christianity biblical doctrinal studies fellowship sharing reformed perspective apologetics systematic theology course director rev michael goheen ba ma first presbyterian church unionville there is still time to join catch up meeting every other saturday if you are a serious minded christian eager to improve your bible study skills and become involved in deeper study with men of like mind in an atmosphere of warm fellowship come and join us january 25th at 800 am refreshments provided call mike goheen 4777497 or richard van seters 4772266 for more information and syllabus