Reg Rygus

A young Edmonton, Madison Feehan has been working for NASA the past five years. In her most recent position with NSPIRES, NASA Solicitation and Proposal Integrated Review and Evaluation System, Feehan is an executive panellist and peer reviewer for technology to determine if it has the merit to go to space and its relevance to upcoming NASA missions.

Ever since she was in grade nine Feehan has had a strong interest in space exploration and science and been trying to commercialize ideas with NASA. One of the technologies Feehan is most passionate about is 3D printers like those built by Space Copy, the companywhich she is the founder and CEO.

• There are no Council or Committee meetings this week. The Agenda Review Committee will resume next week, followed by regularly scheduled meetings the week of January 13th.
• Tuesday is New Year’s Eve! Celebrations feature free activities across the city, including fireworks, live music, and family-friendly events. Churchill Square will host two fireworks displays - an early show at 8:00 pm for families and a traditional midnight display. There will also be skating, cultural performances, and food trucks. The ICE District Plaza will have a hockey watch party, live music by Jade Eagleson, and a midnight fireworks finale. There will be free transit after 6:00 pm and extended service hours to make the festivities accessible for everyone.

The advent of digital photography plus the marriage of cameras and mobile phones has propelled photography into a new orbit. In additions to the millions of photos taken every day there countless numbers of people in various stages in the art of photography.

Local photographer Gamal Mohamed is one who has took an interest in photography about 4 years ago and after some time realized he was growing tired of landscape photography. The about 2 years ago he mentioned this to a friend who introduced Gamal to street photography and it has captured his eye ad been his focus ever since.

The creation account in the Bible begins with the following: In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and darkness was upon the face of the deep. The Spirit of God was moving over the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light; and there was light. Genesis 1:1-3Those verses of scripture introduce an important principle whether applied actually or metaphorically ...there is only one way to get rid of darkness and that is by turning on a light.

The Jewish tradition of lighting a menorah serves as a visual reminder of how much we need Light to extinguish the world's darkness and the largest menorah in Alberta will be lit Sunday, Dec. 29 at 4:30 p.m. in a Hanukkah ceremony open to the public at the Alberta Legislature.

Although the menorah lighting is a Jewish tradition most of the world's religions and cultures have a visual expression that extols Light, hence all the lights we see during this holiday season.

Let there be light!

Now that the holiday season is coming to an end many are wondering what to do with their unwanted holiday leftovers. Wrappings, ribbons, bows, bags, boxes, decorations, lghts, batteries, real and artificial trees may have all reached their "best before time" for you and its time to get rid of them. Before you start emptying the house of holiday waste you may want to consider what Neil Burkard of the Edmonton Waste Management Centre says about the right way to get rid of holiday waste and which is to start by putting the those things you no longer want where it belongs.

Its no secret that Canada Post is on course to lose over $800 million dollars this year so the recent strike by Canada Post focused much of the public attention on the postal carriers. When considering the Canada Post Management Salaries below it may be time for a Canadian equivalent to the USA's newly formed Department Of Government Efficiency.

Although January is the coldest month of the year that doesn't mean the city hibernates, far from it. Although It may not be that noticeable the days are getting longer so there's more daylight hours to join in the "something for everyone" EDIFY list below.

The 1,308 firefighters who are members of Edmonton Fire Fighter Union Local 209 had been without a contract since Dec. 22, 2018. The new agreement that has been reached with the City of Edmonton is for 2018-2023 and the wage increases total 10.3 per cent. With population growth comes an increase in the number of calls to the city’s Edmonton Fire Rescue Services. Between 2018 and 2021 the call volume was about 55,000 calls per year, then increased to 80,000 calls in 2022 and about 95,000 calls in 2023 which Edmonton Fire Fighter Union Local 209 says justifies the increase.,

84% of the Education Assistants who work with the Edmonton Public School voted to reject the latest wage cap offer. There is a great gulf between the disputes inquiry board offer of 2.75% and the CUPE's request for a number close to 30%. The president of CUPE Local 3550, Mandy Lamoureux said educational assistants will be at work on staff for the first day of school when students return from Christmas break. As of today Edmonton Public Schools has not received strike notice from the union.

For many people Boxing Day is a "super savings shopping day" as it was for me in a previous life. I wanted to better understand the roots of Boxing Day so checked a number of websites and have included WIKIPEDIA's entry below which after comparing to what I read on other sites seems to be accurate.

I believe I can sum up the comparison between Boxing Day today to its yesteryear's roots with 2 words. The 1 word I think best describes Boxing Day today is "BUY". The 1 word I think best describes Boxing Day of yesteryear is "GIVE".

Acts 20:35 In everything I have pointed out to you [by example] that, by working diligently in this manner, we ought to assist the weak, being mindful of the words of the Lord Jesus, how He Himself said, It is more blessed (makes one happier and more to be envied) to give than to receive.

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Boxing Day is a holiday celebrated after Christmas Day, occurring on the second day of Christmastide (26 December).^[1] Boxing Day was once a day to donate gifts to those in need, but it has evolved to become a part of Christmas festivities, with many people choosing to shop for deals on Boxing Day. It originated in the United Kingdom and is celebrated in several Commonwealth nations. The attached bank holiday or public holiday may take place on 27 or 28 December if necessary to ensure it falls on a weekday. Boxing Day is also concurrent with the Christian festival Saint Stephen's Day.

In parts of Europe, such as Catalonia,^[2][3] the Czech Republic, Germany, Austria, Hungary, Netherlands, Italy, Poland, Slovakia,^[4] Slovenia, Croatia, Denmark, Finland, Romania, Sweden, Belgium, Norway, Latvia and the Republic of Ireland, 26 December is Saint Stephen's Day, which is considered the second day of Christmas.^[5]

Etymology

There are competing theories for the origins of the term, none of which are definitive.^[6]

The European tradition of giving money and other gifts to those in need, or in service positions, has been dated to the Middle Ages, but the exact origin is unknown; it may refer to the alms box placed in the narthex of Christian churches to collect donations for the poor. The tradition may come from a custom in the late Roman and early Christian era, wherein alms boxes placed in churches were used to collect special offerings tied to the Feast of Saint Stephen,^[7] which, in the Western Christian Churches, falls on the same day as Boxing Day, the second day of Christmastide. On this day, it is customary in some localities for the alms boxes to be opened and distributed to the poor.^[1][8]

The Oxford English Dictionary gives the earliest attestation from Britain in 1743, defining it as "the day after Christmas day", and saying "traditionally on this day tradespeople, employees, etc., would receive presents or gratuities (a "Christmas box") from their customers or employers."^[9]

The term "Christmas box"^[10] dates back to the 17th century, and among other things meant:

A present or gratuity given at Christmas: In Great Britain, usually confined to gratuities given to those who are supposed to have a vague claim upon the donor for services rendered to him as one of the general public by whom they are employed and paid, or as a customer of their legal employer; the undefined theory being that as they have done offices for this person, for which he has not directly paid them, some direct acknowledgement is becoming at Christmas.

In Britain, it was a custom for tradesmen to collect "Christmas boxes" of money or presents on the first weekday after Christmas as thanks for good service throughout the year.^[11] This is mentioned in Samuel Pepys' diary entry for 19 December 1663.^[12] This custom is linked to an older British tradition in which the servants of the wealthy were allowed the next day to visit their families since they would have had to serve their masters on Christmas Day. The employers would give each servant a box to take home containing gifts, bonuses, and sometimes leftover food. Until the late 20th century, there continued to be a tradition among many in the UK to give a Christmas gift, usually cash, to vendors, although not on Boxing Day, as many would not work on that day.^[13]

HIS BIRTH AND OUR NEW BIRTH

By Oswald Chambers

"Behold, a virgin shall bring forth a son, and they shall call His name Emanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us." Isaiah 7:14

His Birth in History. "Therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God." (Luke 1:35.) Jesus Christ was born into this world, not from it. He did not evolve out of history; He came into history from the outside. Jesus Christ is not the best human being, He is a Being Who cannot be accounted for by the human race at all. He is not man becoming God, but God Incarnate, God coming into human flesh, coming into it from outside. His life is the Highest and the Holiest entering in at the Lowliest door. Our Lord's birth was an advent.

His Birth in Me. "Of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you." (Gal. 4:19.) Just as Our Lord came into human history from outside, so He must come into me from outside. Have I allowed my personal human life to become a "Bethlehem" for the Son of God? I cannot enter into the realm of the Kingdom of God unless I am born from above by a birth totally unlike natural birth. "Ye must be born again." This is not a command, it is a foundation fact. The characteristic of the new birth is that I yield myself so completely to God that Christ is formed in me. Immediately Christ is formed in me, His nature begins to work through me.

God manifest in the flesh - that is what is made profoundly possible for you and me by the Redemption.