Halifax

For many years, I have been a faithful member of the Catholic Biblical Association of America. The Roman Catholic Church hosts this organization, and many of us are participating, contributing members. This is a tremendous blessing. We are blessed to travel all over the world for these conventions. A few years ago, Evelyn and I spent a week in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Like everywhere, we learned so much from such experiences. Here are a few highlights.

Halifax was founded in 1749 by Governor Edward Cornwallis under the British government. The City of Halifax was incorporated in 1841. Today, the population is approximately the same size as Abilene, Texas, our city, 120,000 people. On 1 April 1996, the government of Nova Scotia dissolved the City of Halifax, and amalgamated the four municipalities with Halifax Copunty and formed Halifax Regional Municipality.

The Acadia people were the natives at Halifax. Over many decades, quite a few of these people migrated south along the Mississippi River and settled in Louisiana. From this people came Evangeline, a great epic. While we were in Halifax, we visited Acadia University. This is a beautiful campus. One of the colleges in this university excels in horticulture. Hosts showed us through the buildings. Inside and out, there were all kinds of beautiful flowers and trees and shrubs of all kind. What a marvelous display!!!

We spent one day at the ocean, where the tides near Halifax are the highest and lowest tides in the world--approximately 30 feet in expanse over a 24 hour period. Early in the morning, we watched as the sand was visible and many people walked out for hundreds of feet. Four hours later, and the water was rising rapidly. Boat had been on the ground, now they are floating as the water continues to rise. What a manifestation of God's created world!!!

Halifax and nearby regions are noted for maritime tragedies over the centuries. One memorable example occurred in 1917, near the end of World War I. A French munitions ship, the Mont Blanc, collided with a Belgian relief ship, the Imo. The collision sparked a fire on the munitions ship which was filled with 2,300 tons of wed and dry picric acid, 200 tongs of TNT, 10 tons of gun cotton, with drums of Benzol stacked on her deck. On 6 December 1917, at 9:04:35 a. m., the munitions ship exploded in what was the largest man-made explosion before the first testing of an atomic bomb, and is still one of the largest non-nuclear man-made explosions. Items from the exploding ship landed 5 kilometers away. The Halifax Explosion decimated the city's north end, killing approximately 2,000 people, injuring 9,000, and leaving tens of thousands homeless and without shelter. The following day, a blizzard hit the city, hindering recovery efforts. People rushed to Halifax to rebuild the city. The most celebrated effort came from the Boston Red Cross and the Massachusetts Public Safety Committee. As an enduring thank-you, since 1971 the province of Nova Scotia has donated the annual Christmas tree lit at the Common in Boston.

Some day, spend some time in Halifax and the surrounding region. There is so much more to tell. Maybe I will share more experiences we had. Three parting thoughts.
1. People around the world are wonderful. The people of Halifax and Nova Scotia treated us marvelously while we were visiting there. It is so important to remember that God created every person in God's image. And God blesses all of us through others created in the image of God.
2. People will immediately flow to help people in need. God's people should always be the first to help people. Sometimes this happens. Sometimes this does not happen. There is something about all people that indicates that God has "planted" a seed in every person to help people in need. The world rushed to help Halifax in the great Halifax Explosion in 1917.
3. Change is inevitable. I am so different from who I was, where I was, what I thought and believed, where I lived, etc., etc. This happens to all people, all cities, all countries. The Acadia people no longer exist as they were centuries and decades ago. The same is true of all of us. God is the same. But we change. Sometimes, this is good. Sometimes, this is bad. But we change. This is life.

Have you been to Halifax? If not, you need to go there. Let me have your thoughts. Shares your impressions with your friends, your church, your community. Learn more about Halifax in Wikipedia, encyclopedias and books. Travel. Travel. Travel.

John Willis