Rotary Program: 12/22/04

Program Chairperson(s): Pam Howard & Jerry Kanney

Speaker(s): Betsy Thompson and the Pike Central Chorus & Father Bennie

Pam Howard introduced the first part of the program today. She informed us that Betsy Thompson and the Pike Central Chorus would be singing for us today. Betsy Thompson is a graduate of Johns Creek High School and attended the Appalachian School of Music and Morehead State University. She is a 25-year veteran of the Pike County Schools where she has won many awards, among which was Teacher of the Year. She and her husband, Tommy reside on lower Johns Creek with her four children. Betsy narrated and conducted the young ladies in the Chorus while Sarah Bliffen accompanied on the piano. She began with a medley of traditional Christmas Carols such as “Hallelujah, Hark the Herald Angels Sing, O Come to the Manger, At Christmastime the Angels Sing, O Holy Night, and Joy to the World.” Then Betsy and the Chorus presented a medley of secular Christmas songs like “Its Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas, Let it Snow, Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire and I’m Dreaming of a White Christmas.” With these songs, the Chorus used bells to add a special accompaniment to the music. Finally, the Chorus ended with a song called “Peace, Peace,” which also required the audience to participate by singing “Silent Night.” We were all truly blessed by the wonderful singing and music today.

Jerry Kanney then introduced Father Bennie of the St. Francis Catholic Church in Pikeville. He is from Carola, India, pop. 25,000 and was ordained to the priesthood nine years ago. He is a member of the Order of the Heralds of Good News and has been in the U. S. for four years. Other members of his family are serving in England, Ireland, Saudia Arabia and Columbia. Father Bennie brought to us a message of the true meaning of Christmas. He told of a friend who visited the Holy Land shortly after the 9/11 tragedy in the U. S. As he passed through the customs security, he was asked to hand over a nativity set that he had purchased so that it could be scanned because they could not be too careful in preventing any explosive materials to enter the country. While his friend thought about what the customs official said, he thought that the figurine of the baby in the nativity set represented the most explosive power that the earth had ever known. For you see, that baby born in Israel two thousand years ago represented more explosive power than the combined nuclear material in the U.S., Russia, and all the other countries in the world. But Jesus came not as a prince of a powerful country, but as a poor, naked and helpless child. He was not greeted by Kings, great generals, or the High Priest, but by lowly shepherds, who were the outcasts of that society. He identified with the poor, the outcast, and the sinners of this world and taught us of the one God of Heaven and earth as the Father who loves us and sent His only Son to declare that we are all his children. He died to pay for the sins of the whole world and rose from the dead to make a way for us to return to God. Just as those who accepted Him in that day were outcast, so are those today who embrace His cross and are not ashamed to claim Him as Lord and Savior. Father Bennie says that Jesus is the eternal gift from God to man and what we do with that gift is our gift back to God. He finished by saying that we have many gifts - eyes, ears, hands, feet, faith love, laughter and life. With these and many others we should never forget the true meaning of the incarnation of Jesus. Merry Christmas to all. - JMC