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stouffville suntribune thursday march 3 2005 7 samesex wedding hits home at church the samesex mar riage debate contin ues to be a major topic of discussion across canada but nowhere is the issue more apparent than in this town of churches whitchurchstouffville the reality of it all hit home when it was learned a marriage of two lesbians had been performed last fall by a stouffville minister at the toronto board of trade golf and country club the whispers confined initially to coffee clusters swelled to a chorus when the wedded couple participated in an advent candle lighting at stouffville united church dec 5 prompting at least one couple to leave the con gregation according to the presid ing pastor rev kathi phillips of st pauls united church in richmond hill the women had known each other and had been living together sev eral years she described them as loving and caring people rev phillips said she wasnt sure what prompted them to seek out her services but i felt privileged to be asked she described the cere mony as wonderful with supporting families from both sides in attendance along with many guests theyre mature adults who wished to make a com mitment said rev phillips they could just as easily have gone before a justice of the peace but that wasnt their choice the pastor thinks the time has come for people to look beyond prejudicial opinions and judge others for who they really are these are truly wonder ful ladies she said rev bob nightingale pas tor at stouffville united said while he played no personal part in the wedding ceremo ny he knows both women well with respect to the can dle lighting he said the deci sion was a recommendation from the churchs worship committee rev nightingale exp ressed regret two long standing members of the congregation had taken exception to the decision and were now attending elsewhere this is indeed a con- cern he said theres been reaction on both sides he said the roots of this particular husband- wife team are deeply embedded in church and in church tradition its some thing thats difficult for them to accept he said and i understand this more importantly he thinks is the need to treat everyone regardless of sex ual orientation with dignity roaming around with jim thomas and respect the makeup of the church street church has changed drastically in the last 20 years the majority of peo ple with roots now embed ded in congregational life arent lifelong residents of the town or even lifelong members of the denomina tion their attitudes he notes are more understand ing and accepting and this he thinks is good the bible states very clearly that homosexuality is an abomination he said but at the same time the scriptures teach us to love and nurture each another one must sometimes look past the literal sense he said rev nightingale praised the acceptance of his con gregation towards two peo ple who he said have so much to give it was at the 38th general council of the united church in canada held in wolfville nova scotia that a formal request was submit ted to ottawa asking the federal government to rec ognize and legalize same- sex marriage while debate on the issue was described as argumen tative and emotional the conclusion was overwhelm ingly in favour rev nightingale said a marriage request from a homosexual or lesbian cou ple would in his opinion be dealt with like any other nuptial application he noted however the issue of samesex marriage has not yet been put to a vote of the congregation the final word goes to the relative newlyweds the congregation at stouffville united church has been absolutely won derful said one asking for anonymity this community has been accepting far beyond our expectations we feel very lucky to live here the ladies of the church hosted a shower for us we were overwhelmed by this to light the advent can dle was an honour jim thomas is a stouffville resident who has been writing for area news papers for more than 50 years whats for from our frozen section this week were featuring our shepherds pie which to some is comfort food at its finest we use sauteed spanish onion our medium ground chuck and freshly peeled idaho or pei potatoes mashed you just need to warm it reg 1095 ea c i a w k off serves 34 j m xhis week we sell lots of fresh asparagus because a we always buy the very best quality available b we take lots of care in handling it which translates into the best eating enjoyment and c we charge a fair price late baking weve had a number of complaints about not having sufficient sugar and gingerbread cookies of late this week well have a generous supply of st patricks day leprechauns irish wenches fourleaf clovers spring flowers easter cookies roosters what cows of course mooses and rainbows to name a few weve been slackingoff in the turnover department but now weve mended our ways and well have a continuous supply thursday to sunday and well have more berries in the strawberrycream cheese ones lots of individual desserts are happening well have various flavours of mousses mini lemon meringues tarts mini fruit tarts meringue nests filled with fruit and last but foremost eclairs watch for new items starting next week tiramisu in individual size croquenbouche in various sizes and fillings white tqblerone mousse in almond meringues and hazelnut meringues with mocha and milk chocolate ganache this isnt about the musical guys a generation or two ago this goes back further this reminds me of my old aunt minnies meatloaf which i had never had until that particular day of culinary enlightenment when i was 8 and on really good behaviour on our biannual family visit to my dads oldest sister i thought that i had gone to heaven it would be a long time till i realized that the reputation of meatloaf had fallen into disrepair that is until i met doreen this is hers and its just as good as my aunts rest her soul well be making this in two sizes and it will be available in our prepared food counter this thursday friday and saturday and beyond youll love it large will be 995 and the smaller size will be 595 our first chipwagon day a month ago was a good success even with a couple of glitches in our fry production our intent is to do one on the first saturday of every month on the menu this time are fresh cut fries new york style grilled brats on a bun and an ice cold coke its a great lunch for 500 well be going at 11 am until 3 pm see you there tomato basdd we make this soup using you guessed it fresh tomatoes and fresh basil the base being chicken stock in fact i invite you to read the full ingredient list all good stuff one further point this can be j mmd a served either hot or chilled as jr yf your mood dictates w pli fy reg 549 j a f this qls week serves 34 so whats ng our bratwurst its your lucky week not only will these be available as our sausage feature you can have a hot one to go as well we make them with beer just like in the olden times reg 399 lb off this week w thiss week we 11 have an applealmond deal taking place this week and the main characters are brandebd apple custard cakes these are our custard cakes with brandiedspiced apples baked in a word of advice would oe to serve these ever so slightly warm two sizes jo and lo applealmond custard tarts this is new and it contains spiced apples toasted sliced almonds amaretto and vanilla custard this is also best served warm 1 ea dapple pies these are our old favourite we use spy apples mostly theyre available either with a streusel top or a pastry top 9 size apple almond scones 95 8 ea with a hint of maple syrup a ea amaretto cheesecake flans amaretto cheesecake with sliced almonds and apples fanned out on a shortbread crust 1 appleoatmeal muffins these are with dates and almonds theyre healthy with reduced sugar and oil theyre loaded with apple chunks dates and sliced almonds x ea calvados creme brule with the fabled beverage and spiced apples 3 ea ps in case you dont know you can return the ramakins from past purchases for a refund of 50 each xh illa grocer quality fdodjss specials in effect until closing sunday march 6 hours mon 1100700 tuesthurs 900700 fri 900800 sat 900600 sun 1000500 548 carlton road unionville 9401770