President Gerry and Nancy presented Gerald Vreman with a Paul Harris Fellow. President Gerry said :

It is my distinct pleasure and honour to introduce the next recipient of a Paul Harris Fellow, Rotarian Gerald Vreman.

Gerald calls St. Thomas his hometown. He received his formal music education at Western University and at the Royal Conservatory of Music, earning a Master’s Degree in Piano Performance and Literature. He is an examiner for all levels of piano across Canada, a teacher of piano for over 37 years, and is the Music Director at Centre Street Baptist church here in St. Thomas.

Gerald joined our club in January 2017, and in August of that year, he was appointed Chair of the St. Thomas Rotary Music Festival. Under his leadership, the festival came back from nearly being cancelled, to once again being a vibrant and healthy event, culminating in our festival joining the Ontario Music Festivals Association last year. As a member of the OMFA, the St. Thomas Rotary Music Festival was able to send nine students to the Provincial competition in Niagara Falls earlier this year to represent our own St. Thomas Rotary Music Festival.

Recently, Gerald and his family have established a major awards scholarship for a grade 8 piano student, in honour of Gerald’s father Harry Vreman, who was instrumental – yes, pun intended – in Gerald’s musical development.

Tonight we applaud Gerald’s passion for music and his dedication to his students, instilling in them a love of music that will benefit them and our communities for a lifetime.

This Paul Harris Fellow is awarded to Gerald Vreman in recognition of his leadership as Chairperson of the 2018 and 2019 St. Thomas Rotary Music Festival, and for his continued support and enthusiasm promoting this event in St. Thomas, and in the Province of Ontario.

Bishop Barry Clarke with President Gerry and Harris bear that goes to Women’s Shelter on Barry’s behalf. Nancy Lovelock gave the following introduction:

Bishop Barry Clarke is presently the interim pastor at St Hilda's \ Saint Luke's parish and Trinity Church, St Thomas. Bishop Barry lived in Montreal most of his life. He is a graduate of McGill University and the Montreal Diocesan theological college. In 2004 Bishop Barry was elected as the 11th bishop of Montreal, a position he held until 2015. He left Montreal in 2015 to become the Bishop in charge of St Paul's Cathedral, London. In 2017 he then began ministry in St. Thomas. Bishop Barry is married to Archdeacon Janet Griffith-Clarke; between them they have 4 adult children, 9 grandchildren and 3 dogs. They live in Port Bruce Ontario.

Bishop Barry spoke of the hope, peace and love that Christmas brings to us, but recognised the reality of brokenness, injustice and oppression in our world. We have devalued the joy of creation. He asked “What is life giving?” He did not think that a Hallmark movie defines what is life giving. The holy season is deep rooted in our soul. It is a challenge for us to live these values in the world that devalues sacredness. He went on to question the secularised world that is evidenced in Quebec by bill 21 which is contrary to Canadian and UN Charters of inclusiveness, equality and love. This makes a sad time for some people. We should not consider that happiness can come about by consuming and we should not purchase something at Christmas that will be a burden to us. God is with us; he is a personalized God; we are holy individuals made in the image of God; we are valued. Some people's lives have been betrayed because of discrimination. Rotary lives by values that recognise something intentional by God's plan. Bishop Barry drew an analogy to the song “Here comes Santa Claus right down Santa Claus Lane” from a faith perspective. This is like God coming into the world to be with us. We should speak about the real meaning of Christmas. He asked for the blessings of Christmas on us that include peace and joy.