Nobleton Notes

Bible Fun Camp at St. Paul's

Register for a fun-filled, Jesus-themed half-day Bible Fun Camp for kids from four to 12 years old.

Bible Fun Camp is next week (July 6 to 10), from 9 a.m. to noon. Phone the church office at (905) 859- 0843 to register. There is no cost for this terrific camp experience.

Do you go to the cottage on summer weekends? Do you have a friend who works Sunday? Then come to our Thursday celebration at 7:30 p.m. It is a worship gathering intended for those who can't come Sunday in the summer.

Join us this Sunday (July 5) at 10 a.m. as Jeff Loach busts the myth - Church is boring. Child care (for children five years of age and younger) is provided during the gathering and our summer children's program takes place at the same time. For more information about any of our activities or events, please contact the church office or visit our Web site at www.stpaulsnobleton.ca

Horticulture

Calixa Lavalee (1842- 1891) was born in Vercheres, Quebec (then Lower Canada), a "Canadien errant," meaning a Canadian, especially of French heritage, who lives outside Canada. He was an accomplished musician, composer and conductor who was commissioned by Lt.-Gov. Theodore Robitaille of Quebec to set to music a poem written by Sir Adolphe-Basile Routhier for the St. Jean Baptiste Day (June 24) celebrations in 1880. The resulting song was O Canada.

By the by, the lieutenant governor is the Queen's personal representative (Queen Victoria in Theodore Robitaille's day) in each province and as such, is the ceremonial head of the province while the elected premier is head of the provincial government.

In 1908 Robert Stanley Weir (1851-1926), a Canadian of British heritage born in Hamilton (then Upper Canada), but who lived much of his life in Quebec where he was a judge and served as a member of the Quebec Legislative (now National) Assembly, wrote the English words for this song to mark the 300th anniversary of the founding of Quebec City (which marked its 400th anniversary last year). The English wording, which is not a translation of the French lyrics, has been slightly changed twice, once in 1921 by Robert Weir himself, and then again by others in the late 1970s giving us the English version we so proudly sing today.

O Canada, by Royal proclamation, officially became our National Anthem Canada Day 1980, 100 years after it was first heard publicly. While there is now a direct French translation of the English words, which is used on state occasions, the original Routhier-Calixa words remain popular with Canadians of French background and these are the words most English speaking Canadians of my generation learned in our high school French classes.

God Save the Queen (King), designated our Royal Anthem in 1980, is always played as part of the Royal Salute when the Queen, another member of the Royal Family, the Governor General or Lieutenant Governor is present at a Canadian event, and is used similarly in Australia, New Zealand and Jamaica. It is also used by tradition in Britain as the National Anthem. Much mystery surrounds the origins of this, as the persons who wrote the words and music are unknown. Some say the music is based on an old Scottish hymn, while others give the credit to British composer Henry Purcell (1659-1695), who composed a slightly similar piece. One of the most interesting stories tells that it was written for a London theatrical performance in 1745 to be attended by George III. It was so well received by audiences that it got several encores at each performance and became so popular that it was eventually adopted as the British National Anthem, although it has never designated this by Royal proclamation or an act of the British Parliament.

Nobleton United Church

The Sanctuary Spruce Up, phase 1 is almost finished. The new carpet will be laid later this week. We wish to thank all of the volunteers who have been, and still are, helping with this project. We wish to thank especially our brothers and sisters from Immanuel Reformed Church of Nobleton for their help.

Sunday worship will continue during the summer at 11:15 a.m. with the addition of an informal evening service Wednesdays at 6 p.m. from July 15 until Aug. 19. July 15, after the informal service, we will be having a barbecue, with hamburgers, hotdogs and beverages supplied. Please bring a salad or dessert to share.

For members of Nobleton United Church, there will be a congregational meeting at 7:30 p.m. July 15 to vote on a motion to form a two-point pastoral charge with Schomberg United Church.

Vacation Bible School will run from Aug. 24 until Aug. 28, from 9 a.m. to noon. The cost is $5 per child. Please call the church office at (905) 859-3976 to register.

Nobleton Seniors' activities

The winners of the June 23 evening euchre were Helen Groombridge, Bob Fleury, Cathy Kiekebelt, Paula Latanville and Roy Hilliard. The most lone hands was won by Doris Clarkson. We will have had our Strawberry pot luck supper by the time this reaches print. We will resume our regular schedule in September. Have a good summer.

Garden Tour

The Nobleton — King City Horticultural Society is hosting its annual Garden Tour next Sunday (July 12), from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m.

This is a rare opportunity to visit a good variety of local gardens, large and small, that are only open to the public for this occasion. The $10-per-visitor tickets, that include maps showing the locations of the tour gardens, are available in advance at the Pharmasave Pharmacy in the Nobleton Plaza on the east side of Highway 27, a few blocks north of King Road, and at Still Gorgeous in the first block north of the King on the west side of Highway 27, both in Nobleton, and in King City at Crawford Wells gift store near the intersection of King Road and Keele Street, and The Black Forest Garden Centre on Keele, just south of Lloydtown — Aurora Road. Tickets may also be bought at any of the gardens on the tour. Please keep your ticket with you, as it must be shown at each garden visited. If you don't plan to buy a ticket because you only want to visit one or two gardens, there will be a charge of $2 per garden.

For more information, call Roz and Hans at (905) 833-3206, Maria and Chris at (905) 833-2146, Elizabeth and Blair at (905) 833-5173, Kate and Terry at (905) 951- 1912 or go to our Web site www.altflora.com