32 - North Shore News — Friday, September 8, 2000 ———— SPIRITUALLY SPEAKING——— Pastor Todd Wiebe Contributing Columnist I spent a morning at Dachau in Germany recently. Dachau was the first concentration camp set up by the Nazis. It operated trom 1933 to 1945 and proved somewhat of'a training ground for camps such as Treblinka and Auschwitz. In the roughly three hours that I had there I found the images and consid- erations too much to take in, and I still feel presumptuous to speak of the feelings that I felt. Presumptuous because there are so many alive now who are still suffering under the pain of what happened in places like Dachau. That the place had seen incredible evil was evident. * - T stood in the barracks where prisoners were housed; I feaned against a wall where many executions took place. There was much that trou-’ - bled me. One of the trou- bling things, though, hit me _ rather unexpectedly. I was a heading towards the remato- _ LONMORE 10 10:20.m 10:00 a.m. Family Worship. »* Meeting at 3590 Mt. Highway : * Pastor Harder - 986-7400 ". htups//www.newhope.be.ca num, following the signs past the rows of barracks to the back of the camp. Once at the back you turn and cross a bridge to get to the cremato- dum. TF had seen pictures of the crematorium before, but being there was entirely dif ferent, seeing the sign above the ovens that said, “Prisoners were hanged from these beams.” What I had not seen in photos or documentaries before, however, was the bridge outside of the build- ing. Under the bridge ran a swiftly, but almost silently flowing creek, and the creek was veiled with lush, green growth. It was beautiful. And that is what troubled me. I wanted the place to be all ugly, to suit the evil thar hap- pened there. I thiak I felt this because doing so I would be able to keep my consideration of evil at a distance. If what surrounded it was altogether ugly, then it would be easier to hate. But if beauty exists so close to evil, then the implica- tions might ‘be too much to consider. We can like to hate what “we see as evil, but in such - 3201 Mountain Highway a 987-2114 hatred there is often also deniai — denial that evil can exist close to us, chase to the beauty we like to appreciate. Keeping evil ata distance by noticing it only in others, by pointing to their shortcom- ings and failures makes it so that our sensibilities are not threatened. We do not need, then, ro consider our own setfishness or hatred or sin. Keeping evil ugly, identifying it outside of ourselves, allows us to condemn other people, to yell and holler and try to reform the people that we declare need to be fixed up. I write as someone who works at a church and vet rec- ognize that churches can be specialists at pointing at the evil on the outside. This is a central failing of religion gone wrong. But this secing of the ugliness outside of ourselves is by no means the exclusive domain of churches. Listen to some call-in radio shows for a couple of days and consider what people are saying is wrong with the world. Pointing to the problems out- side of ourselves is sornething that we all do — all that is, except Christ. Central to the Nite (Gr. 7-12} o ASAP’ Young Adult | Worship fage 18+} Course * Lodies’ Moming Break o ESL Closses _ © Weighderwn Workshop! Small Group Bible Studies... ivorceCare Support Group — Women’s Concer Support Group — sion Support Group Skil Helper Countelloe I Training and morel Coll church office for details. 201 East 23rd Stree), North Vancowver 5 : (606)984-6422 © anvil: info@asocbccs + 10:30 AM WORSHIP SERVICE . . Minister Rev. Sharon man Mouth Group 2nd & 4ch Sundays 7-9pm. Sent School Nunc Care “CANYON HEIGHTS CHRISTIAN ASSEMBLY (PAOC) | 7, 840 Caplano Ra N, Van. Ph. 985-7131 Pastor Brian Taylor Sept 10th, SUNDAY - 10:30am. Speaker: Dr. Jim Lucas 'S0-YEAR ANNIVERSARY’ of this CHURCH in the COMMUNITY We welcome everyone, espaclally former attendees! Capilano . Christian Community. Ruetaingig . Lucas Centre 2132 Hamilton way, NMane “ Sundays, 10am - . 960-8997 : ” “Alpha” at Cap »"Alpha” is a ‘diapraxie’ on Christian faith for the spiritual seeker. B*Find out ‘about “Alpha” on Sunday. Sept. :24™ at 10 am (until 11:15) at Cap. - 3*Phone 980-8997 for information. Christian scriptures is Christ on the cross. There he not only dies, but more than that, as the scriptures say, he becomes sin. He who is alto- gether beautiful becomes rid- dled with ugliness and hatred and violence and pain. He does not point to the sin in me and condemn me; rather he takes the sin in me and dies over it— and defeats it. It is in considering him on the cross that | am able to consider ugliness and beauty both — sin and love. But he is difficult to look at, his death continues to offend our sensibilities just as that bridge and that creek did mine. We took 15 roils of film on our tip to Europe; hun- dreds of photos of very many incredible things. When they are developed, there will be one of a beautiful creek and - the green surrounding it. It will likely not stand out from the other photos to look at. To me, though, it will actually mean something more. — Pastor Todd Wiebe writes ‘ont = Nort: Vancouver's Sutherland Bible Chapel. He can be reache at . Sunday Celebration vlatelet © J VMcetings The Word of God declares that Jesus Christ Himself... © Took our infirmities; ° Bore our sicknesses; and ¢ By His stripes we are healed Come expecting great things and see God confirm His Word with signs following - 6:30 pm Saturdays, starting September 9 and continuing. No meetings November 11, Cecember 23 & 30... The Lonsdale Rec Cente Memorial ans - Dates: Lecation: Across the street in the Parking: : Recreation Centre parking lot with” Rev. George Tanner Assistant Pastor, Faith Bibie Church» Abbotsford, B.C. Free will offerings will be received For further information please call.980-7548 Sunday, y, September 10/00. ||, | rvices - 9:00 & 11: Speaker - Pastor Owen Scott . > (Full children’s program offered In bath services Lynn Valley Full Gospel Church, 160 E. 29th . . North Vancouver, B.C. Ph. 880-0307 Paotoral Staff: Owan Scott, Gian Ryland, Mareol Kurtz, Matonia Sanderson : Valley Church |s made up of ordinary peopis ‘whooe twee have been touched by’ the person of Jeous Chriss