5 Responses to “Tributes to George”

1. Duncan Blackman Says:
   June 5th, 2008 at 9:41 am

   A Tribute to Dr. George Falk

   What is the Measure of a Man? Not in his wealth, possessions or status, but in his influence of others! On June 2, 2008, Moose Jaw and Saskatchewan lost a great man of influence, Dr. George Falk. George used his education, skills and talent to guide and mentor children and youth to believe in themselves, value commitment and pursue great endeavours. He provided opportunities through the Cornerstone Christian School musicals, dramas, sports events, and spiritual retreats for youth to challenge themselves, overcome difficulties, develop their talents, and to reach beyond their natural abilities to achieve success. George spoke words that strenthened and encouraged people in ways that made us better and stronger. I shall cherish the opportunity I had to know him and to gain from his fine example.

   This morning as I contemplated his influence, I was reminded of a musical, Heaven Is, which he produced with a cast of students. The following lines from one of the songs typifies the ultimate message that George gave to us: “Heaven is a wonderful place, Filled with Glory and Grace, I want to see my Saviour’s face, Heaven is a wonderful place.” Today George is with His Saviour. And we are strengthened by the message of hope which George left with all of us. Thanks George.

   - Duncan Blackman, Moose Jaw

2. Amanda Dryburgh Says:
   June 6th, 2008 at 5:03 pm

   I knew Geroge for only a short ime when I started going to church, but you could always see how he like to help out and teacher other. He had great ideas and he loved his garden of flowers. I learnned many thing from him and thing he teached on in morning bible classes, and had when he preached in the mornings. The first day my mother started to go to church was the day we had the marrage pannal and just what george said help my mom and i realize many thing about your own relationship. So i have geroge to thank for that he was a great person. Now he is with the father that called him home. we will miss having him around but he leasons and teaching will live on.

   Amanda Dryburgh, Penticton B.C.

3. Volker Rininsland Says:
   June 7th, 2008 at 8:45 pm

   AMEN to the above.
   I was one of the people that George had an influence on even though we probably only talked a half a dozen times. However I was blessed enough to watch George in action for the last number of years and learned a lot simply from watching him. We are called to love the Lord with all our heart and mind and soul and strength and we all saw that as we saw an obedient and disciplined life. I was strongly encouraged to worship more sincerely and enthusiastically, live in a more disciplined fashion, and love God more deeply and obediently as I watched George in our church and in the community.
   It has been said that life is not measured in its length but in its breadth. George, by the Grace of God lived 80 or 90 years of action and service in just over 50 years of natural life. His life was broad, deep, and full. And our community saw an authentic committed successful real and honest Christian who was the intellectual equal or superior of anyone out there. What an influence in the community!
   I learned from George that we are always watched as we live our lives. For better or for worse everything we do influences someone else. And oh, did George influence others for good!
   Thanks, George. You’ve been there for a lot of us that you didn’t even know about. We look forward to seeing you again “farther along”

   Volker Rininsland, Moose Jaw

4. Ændrew Rininsland Says:
   June 8th, 2008 at 11:07 pm

   Odd that my dad would comment just before me, but at any rate, even though I didn’t know Dr. Falk in the same way that someone who went to Cornerstone would have, the effect he had at Cornerstone was felt even in the public school district and it is thanks to a number of trailblazers like him that there is such a high level of youth fine arts in Moose Jaw.

   I knew Dr. Falk vaguely through the church but I mostly saw the effects of his work by going to that other school, the one on West Oxford. Central has long had an epidemic of winning the prize for technical performance at the One Acts drama festival but missing the best overall, starting with I believe Antsylvania…

   “What?! What do you mean, a play about ants beat us?! But… but…”

   This kind of spawned a very low-key rivalry between our schools, largely in how we presented our drama departments. While Dr. Falk was producing what we perceived as obnoxiously-optimistic moral dramas, we were doing dark Russian comedies (Ironically enough, I believe the play I’m referring to was also done by Dr. Falk, but slightly more upbeat and with far less crassness. It was much better received, as well.).

   In our pretentiousness of tossing our scarves around our turtlenecks and decrying the fact that our brilliantly-produced intellectual comedies were being overlooked, we missed one of the biggest rules of any media endeavour: know your audience. Dr. Falk produced exactly what Moose Jaw needed to see in that point in its history. It was during a time of renewed economic revitalization and the city had reason for the hope evident in Dr. Falk’s plays. It needed to be told, “The world is a beautiful place. Do what Jesus would do, and don’t let humanity weigh you down.” Thankfully, in the last couple of years this rivalry mentality has seemed to dissipate to the point of non-existence.

   This goes without even mentioning the incredible amount of work Dr. Falk did to expand the Moose Jaw Arts Scene and help get it to the world-class standard it has today. Dr. Falk’s plays were (and his influence continues to be) a part of Moose Jaw’s character and helped the city towards finding a new identity in a time of change. Without even going into how much of an incredibly spiritual and devoted man Dr. Falk was, Moose Jaw has lost one of its finest citizens and its arts scene one of its hardest workers. We are blessed to have had such a dedicated person pass through our midsts who had the fortitude and courage to make a direct impact on his city.

   -Ændrew Rininsland
   Calgary, Alberta.

5. stephane gerand Says:
   June 14th, 2008 at 12:32 pm

   Georges,
   I still cannot believe that you are gone.
   You are leaving us with happy memories and funny stories to tell…And when I close my eyes to prevent tears from falling, I see your smile upon us all.
   Dance Georges, dance with the Lord now…See you up there.

   -Stef.
   Moose jaw,Sask.

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