Christmas Luncheon

MR. DERRY:

Your Honour, Your Excellency, Reverend Madam, Reverend Sir, distinguished Past Presidents, members and their families, and guests of The Empire Club of Canada: Our luncheon today is a continuation of one of the most enjoyable traditions of our club. The Christmas luncheon is the one luncheon each year to which we do not invite a speaker, but instead we gather to celebrate the spirit of Christmas, and to enjoy traditional festivities. It is a luncheon at which we encourage family and friends to join us for pleasant and highly traditional fare, including plum pudding, and Christmas entertainment. The consistently high attendance at this luncheon each year is testimony to the pleasure and enjoyment of all of us in it.

From one generation to the next, the joy of Christmas is carried forward as our inheritance through songs, hymns, and carols from the beginning of Christianity. The original Christmas carols were derived from the Bible and one can see this from familiar sources such as St. Luke:

Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

Since that time, Christmas hymns, carols, and songs have been written and continue to give us great pleasure each Christmas.

They are so familiar to us: "O Little Town of Bethlehem," "Deck the Halls," the rollicking "God Rest You Merry, Gentlemen," and, of course, Canada's first Christmas carol, written in Huron in the seventeenth century by Father Jean de Brebeuf - "Jesus Is Born!" with its haunting words

Twas in the moon of wintertime when all the birds had fled,

That Mighty Gitchi Manitou sent angel choirs instead.

One has to be particularly hard-hearted not to respond to the hymns and carols of Christmas. Regardless of religious belief, the underlying theme of sympathy, goodwill, and consideration for the less fortunate is common to the philosophy of all of us. So it is with great happiness that we celebrate Christmas at this luncheon and are to be entertained with some of these traditional Christmas carols later in the program by the Bishop Strachan School Choir.

Another traditional aspect of this luncheon has been the honour bestowed upon this club through the presence of the Honourable John Aird, Lieutenant-Governor of the province of Ontario and Honorary Vice-President of The Empire Club of Canada. As the personal representative of Her Majesty the Queen, he, through his office, symbolizes the continuing link between the people of this province and Her Majesty. His Honour has been with us at each Christmas luncheon since his appointment four years ago and I know that everyone agrees that he makes a unique contribution to this very happy event. It gives me great pleasure now to welcome His Honour, Lieutenant-Governor John Aird.

His Honour, the Lieutenant-Governor, as the representative in Ontario of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth, brought greetings and best wishes for a Merry Christmas to all members of The Empire Club.

MR. DERRY:

Your Honour, we all appreciate your consideration in joining us today, and although your gracious wife was not able to join you, I hope that you will extend to her the very best Christmas wishes of our club.

It is now my pleasure to introduce to you those who have honoured us today by their presence at our head table. Since most are directors or members of our executive, and their husbands or wives, who are familiar to you, I will be brief in my introduction. I ask that you withhold your recognition until all have been introduced. (Introduction of head table guests.)

MR. DERRY:

As each season of our club succeeds the last one, we are fortunate in the continued high standard and tasteful manner in which the affairs of our club are organized, in spite of the eccentricities of the incumbent president. This is due to the dedication and hard work of our directors, to whom we are all indebted, and also to several individuals who, regardless of circumstances, make each of the luncheons function so well.

I am referring, of course, particularly to Eleanor Cook, our Executive Secretary, who has a depth of knowledge of the activities and procedures of the club equalled by no one. Her untiring efforts, particularly in respect of the Margaret Thatcher luncheon, we especially appreciate. When necessary, she has been assisted this season by Sheilah Adams, who is always cheerful, enthusiastic, and supportive.

And what would our luncheons be without music at the start? Stanley St. John retired at the end of last season, and we have the good fortune to have Bobby Fenton now providing the music. We thank you, sir!

The consistent quality of our food - and the amazing ability of the hotel to produce four hundred meals for a luncheon at which only three hundred people were expected - is largely thanks to Tony Hauth, the Catering Manager, and to the hotel staff on the convention floor, under the able direction of Adriano Ferreira.

In the finest traditions of the club, we were piped in today, as on many other memorable occasions, by Pipe Major Ross Stewart. For the organization of the luncheon itself, we are indebted to our Director, Mr. Leslie Parkinson, Chairman of the Christmas luncheon committee. Les, like The Empire Club, is this year celebrating his eightieth birthday and as a joint birthday project, he undertook to see that the luncheon was organized and run in as pleasant a manner as possible. I know, Les, that everyone agrees with me that you have been most successful.

On a personal note, my own life is made immeasurably more livable through the efforts of my secretary, Bernie Camacho. Bernie maintains her good humour in spite of large volumes of work from me, continuous revisions to unintelligible introductory remarks each week, and numerous phone calls on what must seem to be an endless number of Empire Club-related matters. To all of these people we owe our thanks and I ask you to join me in expressing our appreciation.

One regret for all of us today is the absence of Henry Stalder, our Immediate Past President, and his lovely wife, Ruth. As most of you know, Henry received a new posting with his bank to Sydney, Australia, last summer, and so they are not with us today. The Christmas luncheon is normally the occasion when we are able to thank our past president and his wife for their sacrifices and the contributions that they have made to the club.

And indeed, Henry Stalder had a first-rate year as president, gracing our platform with an excellent range of speakers and leading in the efficient management of our affairs. In recognition of his contribution, a scroll has been prepared and signed by our Honorary President, His Excellency the Governor General. It will be presented to Henry Stalder later in the season, when he will be in Toronto. However, as a small token of our esteem, flowers were delivered yesterday (since Australia is a day ahead of us) to Ruth from her friends in The Empire Club, and I sent a telex of Christmas wishes to Henry.

This morning I received a telex from Henry and Ruth, which reads as follows:

To the President, distinguished Past Presidents, members of the Board, and members of The Empire Club of Canada:

My spouse and I would like to convey to you all our deep appreciation for your thoughtfulness in sending beautiful flowers on the occasion of the club's Christmas luncheon. We miss you and would have loved to be present on that yearly gathering of "The Empire Club Family." May we extend to all of you most cordial seasons greetings together with the very best wishes for a happy and prosperous 1984.

Ruth and Henry Stalder, Sydney, Australia I know that everyone is looking forward to the choir and I won't hold it up any longer. To sing to us today, and to lead us all in carols, I am delighted to welcome the choir of the Bishop Strachan School, under the able direction of Mrs. Maureen Kolassa and accompanied by Kathy Syer.

Let there be carols!

A program of Christmas music was then sung by the Bishop Strachan School Choir.

MR. DERRY:

Ladies and gentlemen, I am pleased to invite Major General Bruce Legge, President of The Empire Club Foundation and a distinguished Past President of the club, to express our appreciation to Mrs. Kolassa and the choir.

MGEN.LEGGE:

Mr. President, Your Honour, Your Excellency, reverend clergy, members, and friends of The Empire Club of Canada: It is a pleasure to express the appreciation of your great gathering at this mystical time of Christmas.

Foremost is our gratitude to our distinguished President for presenting to us another fabulous Royal York creation in this splendid Canadian Room. It is good to see that Douglas and Margaret Derry are perpetuating the tradition, which some of his presidential predecessors also followed, of paying the grand fees of Bishop Strachan's famous school for young ladies. The school can then send their lovely choir at Christmas to carol for us about the Virgin and her blessed child, the Prince of Peace. That is the true spirit of Christmas - the childlike faith of a little child.

Yesterday, the newspapers were filled with colour pictures of the Prince and Princess of Wales, photographed with the young Prince William, because the world is fascinated by the wonderment of children at Christmas. The pictures were taken in the garden of Kensington Palace, where the Prince of Wales and several of his royal relatives have apartments. Indeed, he told the reporters that there are so many of them that he always says he lives in the "aunt house." Such is the wit of the gallant young prince who was born to be king.

So often we deal with Christmas in a puerile, infantile, juvenile, or childish way, like the doting aunt who took an eight-year-old nephew to dinner and then to the classic ballet, "The Nutcracker." The aunt was ecstatic and asked Billy how he enjoyed the evening. He said, "Oh boy, Auntie, I sure loved having a 'shake and a Big Mac at McDonald's." Auntie was a little disappointed and pressed him about how he liked the ballet. He got the cue and said, "It was real neat, Auntie, except for the funny clothes, the lousy music, and the sissy dancing."

Frequently, we try to put something else into Christmas. I know that His Honour loves oxymorons - those phrases in common use that contain dramatically opposed meanings on the face of them. His Honour was a gallant sailor on corvettes during the war and the first oxymoron that comes to mind is "naval intelligence." His Honour mentioned that he will officially open a post office this afternoon and the imagination leaps with the phrase "postal service." From his greetings from our sovereign lady, Queen Elizabeth Il, I know he will join me in the absurdity of a "commercial Christmas."

That is not the Christmas of The Empire Club of Canada. In the last century, the great Russian philosopher, Dostoyevsky, argued that "without God all things are permissible." Christmas is the celebration of Emmanuel - "God with us" - and a reminder of God's sense of right and wrong and of God's rule. When the earthly decree went forth from Caesar Augustus that all should be taxed, our Saviour was born in a stable in Bethlehem in the remote Roman province of Judxa.

The Empire Club's Christmas rejoices in Jesus' birth. It reminds us of the wonders of friends and family, of the importance of service to the Crown, to Canada, to the Commonwealth, and to this great forum of record. We thank our generous benefactors who enable us to publish The Empire Club Yearbook and freely distribute it to the educational libraries of Canada.

Above all, The Empire Club, at this festive lunch, joins with the renowned choir of Bishop Strachan School in singing in exultation. We all hope, Mr. President, that these young ladies will come back again to sing as choirs of angels as they have so gloriously sung today. Thank you and we wish you a Merry Christmas.

MR. DERRY:

Thank you, Major General Legge. I am pleased, Mrs. Kolassa and girls from BSS, to add my own thanks and congratulations for your magnificent performance, and also for your forbearance in permitting all of us to join so lustily with you. It was most enjoyable.

The choir will now lead us in singing the first verse of "God Save the Queen," following which will you please remain standing until the viceregal party and the choir have departed from the room. However, before ending our luncheon, I would like to quote the words of Clement C. Moore, which are a favourite in our household:

' Twas the night before Christmas when all through the house

Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care, In hopes that Saint Nicholas soon would be there.

Merry Christmas, everyone!