Holy Week and Easter events to be held at the local churches
Nobleton Notes
By Angie Maccarone (905) 859-5174

Holy Week at St. Paul's

Mark your calendars for the dates and times of these events at St. Paul's Presbyterian Church during Holy Week.

Next Sunday (March 16) is Palm Sunday. We will have a special Palm Sunday processional starting at 9:45 a.m.

March 21 is Good Friday. We will have a Communion Service that day starting at 10:30 a.m.

Easter Sunday, we will start the celebrations of our Risen Lord at 8:30 a.m. with a Pancake Breakfast. Our Easter Sunday service will begin at 9:45 a.m. Nursery care (for children five years of age and younger) is provided during the Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday services. We hope you will join us.

The Youth Group meets tonight (March 5) at 7 p.m. and the Prayer Group meets at 7:30. Our Thursday morning ladies study continues tomorrow at 9:30 a.m. The men's group will take a break and resume March 27. The Saturday morning Men's Study will take a break also and resume March 22.

Join us for worship this Sunday (March 9) (the fifth Sunday of Lent) as we welcome Calvin Brown to the pulpit. There will be no nursery and no Sunday school for children this Sunday due to the March break.

The Adult Sunday school class meets following the service at 11:15 a.m.

For more information about any of our activities or events, please contact the church office at (905) 859- 0843 or our Web site at www.stpaulsnobleton.ca

Horticulture

"I'm dreaming of a white lilac just like the ones I used to grow . . . May your days be happy and bright and may at least some of your lilacs be white."

In my former garden on King Road near Nobleton, I had several lovely lilacs, including whites. But I have only a prestonia lilac in my small garden here in Tecumseth Pines. I hope to change that this year by planting two small bushes, one of which will be a white double, Madame Lemoine.

There are about 25 species of lilac worldwide; all members of the olive family (oleaceae) and native to Eurasia. The shrub we are so familiar with is the hardy old fashion variety found in many old gardens and even growing wild along country roads. This lilac is native to Europe's Balkan Peninsula, where the wild bushes were covered in clusters of light bluish purple single florets.

The name lilac comes through French, Spanish and Arabic from the old Persian word lilak or nilak, meaning blue; although lilac has become in English synonymous with a shade of light purple.

Syringa vulgaris, the Latin (botanical) name for this popular lilac, comes from syrinx, meaning hollow tube referring to soft centre of the younger shoots of certain varieties which can be easily hollowed out. This closely grained hollowed wood which is extremely hard was used in ancient times to make reed pipes, flutes and knife handles and centuries later pipes for smoking tobacco (vulgaris is Latin for common or ordinary).

Many of the improved cultivars of the common lilac are due to the work of 19th century French horticulturist Victor Lemoine, who developed lilacs with flowers, most double in shades of deep purple, white, mauve-pink and mauve-rose and eventually these became known as French lilacs. Some 40 years ago, a yellow lilac was introduced and some years later its successor, Aurea, came on the market. These are not vibrant yellows, but creamy white with a suggestion of yellow.

Common lilacs seldom grow more than eight feet in height, but Persian lilacs, introduced from Iran in 1614, do get higher and have arching branches of deep mauve flower clusters, while the Chinese lilac is great for screening at the back of the garden or can be trimmed and used as a flowering, lilac in colour, hedge.

Dwarf Korean lilacs, that get only four to five feet in height and come in white or rose, are ideal for smaller gardens.

Lilacs are drought tolerant and adapt well to most soils, although preferring a neutral to slightly alkaline soil. They won't survive in constantly wet soil.

Lilacs should not be pruned very often, as they bloom on the old wood and if pruned they produce much new bottom growth and will take from two to five years to start reflowering. If pruning is absolutely necessary do it very sparingly as soon as the flowers fade (pruning the dead blooms off is not a problem).

Seniors' euchre The winners of the Feb. 26 evening euchre were (for the women) Carol Sharer, Carol Burbridge, Doris Watson, (men) Walter Bell, Roy Hilliard and Murray Hilliar. Lucky draw winners were Lou Curtis, Roy Hilliard and Murray Hilliard.

The next evening euchre will be March 11. Everyone is welcome. Nobleton Community Hall

Submitted by Mary Anne

Merritt

Chairperson

The annual general meeting of Nobleton Community Hall will be will be this coming Tuesday (March 11) at 7:30 p.m. in the Hall's lower level.

Renovations to the kitchen are now complete. Installation of a fire suppression range hood, new sinks, taps and backsplash have brought the kitchen up to meet health and safety regulations We are once again ready to welcome all to use this great facility.

Thank you to all in our community groups for your co-operation during the month long shut-down of the lower level.

If you have any questions, please call Jan at (905) 859-4682.

St. Mary CWL meeting

The Catholic Women's League (CWL) March meeting will be today (Wednesday) at 7 p.m. for the executive and general meeting, followed immediately by a "baby shower" for the Children of Malawi.

The CWL in Nobleton is proud to be supporting the Legacy of Love Project and is therefore sponsoring this "baby shower" and inviting the community to participate with this great project.

Lenten play coming to St.

Mary

The Heralds of the Gospel, a Catholic lay organization of Pontifical Right, will be performing a play entitled The Trial of Two Apostles: A Drama on the Passion of Jesus March 21. This Lenten play, being presented in Toronto and Hamilton, as well as at St. Mary Catholic Elementary School in Nobleton. It is a beautiful opportunity to prepare for the great celebration of Easter.

It will be presented at 7 p.m. and admission is free.

For more information, call David at (905) 939- 7823.