Ron Tachuk

On November 20th, 2006 at approximately 630 pm my dad took his last labored breath. Dad had been in the hospital since November 13th dealing with pneumonia. He had a lot of other complications because of his poor health and his many addictions. Over the last week he went through a lot of change. He was drowsy and not lucid. He thought he was at that "shithole" the Royal Alec (his words). He thought he had been in hospital for 7 months and that we were transferrring him back and forth. He kept asking for his cigarettes and his tylenol (two staples of his existence!) They tried three different types of antibiotic but his pneumonia would not get better. Over the last month or so of him living with me I could see him deteriorating on a regular basis. The loss of that house that he lived in and gave his life to was a burden that I believe he did not want to bear. This past year has been incredibly tough on him as he lost his mother (December 10th, 2005) and had to move out of his home.
The road to moving him out was not an easy one. Dad could be very uncooperative. Dad had his own ideas about things and if anyone suggested he do something different, chances are that he would choose the opposite. He could be quite the character. We had many an argument. I remeber the day that he ws supposed to move out of the house. We had talked about it and agreed to move him on a Saturday and when the day came he did not want to go. So we moved his stuff out and he slept on the floor in his house for another week with no TV or any other creature comfort!
He could be very aggravating at times but I loved him. I think for the most part I had come to deal with my "dad issues" a number of years ago. For a long time I was angry at him and disappointed with his behaviour. I didn't think he really cared for me or loved me, but I was wrong. He did the best he could with what he had. When I think about it I realize that my dad was light years ahead of his father. His father cheated on his mom, beat the crap out of him, never said that he loved him and was absent most of dad's life. My dad loved his family and told me that on many occasions. He didn't beat me and he adopted me at birth and I did not know that till I was thirty. He accepted me as his own and I never knew that I was "adopted" because I was his first born son. That is how he treated me. I can look back and focus on the things he did wrong, said wrong, or did not do. Or I can realize he did the best with what he had and accept him as he was...imperfect but loved. I can focus on the things that I loved about him and laugh about some of the things that drove me batty. Dad was a horder and he has a lot of crap. I loved going on vacation with him to Kelowna. Vacation was when dad was the happiest. He loved to build the fire and BBQ outside by the tent trailer. Dad consistently took us every year. We played cards by the light of the coleman propane lantern. We listened to Tom Jones and Elvis Presley as we drove. Dad would let you sit on his knee at times as he drove (that is if he didn't have a bottle there already!!!)
The Dr said he was a high mileage 60 and I do believe that to be true. He did it "His way" and that may not have been very smart but it was typically dad.
I am just thankful that he is no longer in any pain. He was lonely and sad and the quality of his life had diminished to such a state that it was irreparable. For his sake I am glad this painful existence is over. In the last days I shared with him about God's love and forgiveness. I encouraged him to call out to God from Psalm Chapter 4. I told him that God would accept him as he was and that he loved him. We are thankful that in his last days his family was at his side and that he knew he was loved. I am going to miss you dad and I pray that you rest peacefully because you deserve it. Finally, no more pain, no more sickness.

Walter Wittkowski

So my Opa died today. For the last few weeks he has been pretty ill and has been in the hospital. Today he took his last breath. Thankfully he went peacefully. He has had cancer that had moved to his bones so his prognosis was for a painful ending. Thankfully that did not happen. Opa was one He was very opinionated and his mouth got him into trouble on more than one occassion. I happen to be a lot like him. In fact they used to call me "little Opa"! I was his first grandchild and I look like him. I spent many summers with him and at times I am sure I aggravated him greatly with my incessant talking. He took me to Germany and while at the time I did not fully appreciate that I have come to realize it was one of his greatest gifts to me. He and Oma have gifted me over the years in many ways for which I could never repay. Their love, kindness and generosity to me and my family is something that I am sooo thankful for. Opa was my biggest supporter in going to Seminary and without him I could not have done it. He believed in me and prayed for me. My fondest memories of him are being at his farm. We would walk the fields together and call the cows. Riding on his tractor and baling hay are very special memories. Feeding chickens and mending fences. Sitting at the breakfast table with him and watching the National with Noltan Nash! Listening to Hymn Sing on Sundays and playing Yahtzee und Elfer Raus!!!!! Eating on those old TV trays. Sitting together at Christmas and hearing him tell the Christmas story to us and then asking us if we knew what it mean't. Drinking that white liquor out of those glasses and watching him lick out the glass. Watching him take the extra food that wasn't eaten and mix it together with the gravy to give to the dog. Opa sometimes would tease you. He often would go to far. But man I loved him! The sounds he would make and that twinkle in his eye let you know that he loved you. He couldn't always say those things but he showed in so many other ways. He loved Oma and their relationship has always been a great example to me. He was not the perfect man. He could be stubborn and hurtful at times. But he was a good man. He left a good legacy. He acted honorably and loved his family. He loved Jesus and had a personal relationship with him. AND Now he is walking in Glory where there is no more sorrow and no more sickness. I am proud of him. I am thankful for him. And I love him!

Harry Lehotsky

My friend Harry Lehotsky has just passed away in the last day. Harry was well known in the Winnipeg area for his undying advocacy for the inner-city of Winnipeg. Harry was one of those people who you never forget! His insight on social justice and the inner-city was very compelling and I was fortunate to have spent a few years learning from him. Harry used to say that he hated all those Christian songs that talked about seeing God in nature and having "mountaintop" experiences. Harry told me that his "mountaintop experience" with
God was found in the alley ways and the inner city streets. That is where he saw God. That is where he experienced majesty and grace. Harry believed in God's lifechanging and transforming power. He believed that power could transform his neighborhood and that is what he stood for. He will be missed and he is loved. To read more see this article!

Well done, faithful servant'
Pastor took on West End's ills, dedicated his life to curing them

Sun Nov 12 2006

BORIS MINKEVICH / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS ARCHIVES Virginia and Harry Lehotsky at the Ellice Cafe and Theatre. He was a driving force behind such area projects.

By Kevin Rollason REV. HARRY LEHOTSKY grew up worshipping in New York City's Hell's Kitchen, but it was in Winnipeg's West End that he found his heavenly calling.

Surrounded by family, Lehotsky died early Saturday of the terminal pancreatic cancer he had been battling since he was diagnosed in May. He was 49.

Lehotsky, a pastor and a founding member of New Life Ministries at 514 Maryland St., champion of Winnipeg's poor and advocate for inner-city renewal, was remembered Saturday by friends, politicians, community leaders and people he had helped.

Trudy Turner, executive director of the West End BIZ, said "the community has lost an icon.

"He has done more for this community than any other single person has. The fact he was so outspoken and so willing to be Harry, regardless of the fallout of it, it really gained him so much respect in the community.

"Whether you agreed or disagreed with him, you always knew where he stood."

Funeral on Wednesday THE funeral for Rev. Harry Lehotsky will be held Wednesday, Nov. 15, at 10:30 a.m., at Calvary Temple on Hargrave Street. If people want to make donations in Lehotsky's name to New Life Ministries, they can contact Rev. Larry Gregan at 775-9147.

Rev. Larry Gregan, a fellow pastor at New Life Ministries, said Lehotsky was always the first to admit he wasn't the only one deserving credit for the growth of the West End ministry. It was responsible for the creation of entities such as Lazarus Housing, which renovated more than 100 housing units in the inner city, and the Ellice Cafe and Theatre.

"But Harry had a very vital part of the whole picture," Gregan said.

"The ministry Harry started reflects a lot of Harry's thinking and action. He really was about renewal of life. The word 'ministries' was put there on purpose."

Lehotsky, in an interview after his diagnosis, said he wasn't afraid of dying.

"I get to meet the person I've been working for all these years. I hope he's (God) going to say, 'Well done, good and faithful servant.' "

Gregan said after Lehotsky made his diagnosis public, he was amazed to see individuals and organizations not only come forward to help complete what he started, but to put his initiatives on a solid footing to continue long after he was gone.

In the last few months, the provincial government announced the creation of the Rev. Harry Lehotsky Award for Community Activism, a group of businessmen held a fundraising dinner to help pay off the street ministry's debts, and a large mural depicting Lehotsky and his work was finished by the West End BIZ.

Mayor Sam Katz, who a few months ago announced the city had created a $5,000 scholarship to honour Lehotsky, called him "a great man.

PHIL HOSSACK / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS ARCHIVES Harry Lehotsky

"Harry was not afraid to fight a battle that most people thought could not be won. Harry showed that one human being can make a big difference."

The city's scholarship will be given annually to one or more students between the ages of 18 and 30 who show a commitment to the West End through volunteer work or community leadership.

In a written statement Saturday afternoon, Premier Gary Doer said Lehotsky "forced all of us to be honest in our discussions of how to address the many issues facing society and our communities."

Lehotsky was a fresh graduate from the North American Baptist Seminary 24 years ago when a group of Baptist ministers urged him to come to Winnipeg's inner city and become a founding member of New Life Ministries.

He not only ministered in the inner city, he also lived there with his family.

Joan Hay, an aboriginal leader in the Spence neighbourhood and co-ordinator of House of Opportunities, a faith-based agency, said she met Lehotsky through his work with Lazarus Housing. Hay said she also worked with Lehotsky on the Clean Sweep advisory committee.

"It takes a community effort to rebuild our community and he was one of the leaders," she said.

"He was always looking for opportunities to improve our neighbourhood. He was an important part of helping our community, but the good work he did will continue to move on."

Winnipeg police Det.-Sgt. Harry Black first met Lehotsky several years ago when the officer began community policing in the West End.

WAYNE GLOWACKI / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS archives Tory candidates Lehotsky and Mary Richard hold news conference in 1999.

"Meeting Harry opened my eyes and showed me there are good people who deserve to be helped," Black said.

"We worked closely together and he helped tell me where the crack houses were in the area. It's just too bad... He was such a young man."

Lehotsky is survived by his wife, Virginia, and three sons.

kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca

John Woods / Winnipeg Free Press About 75 worshippers gathered Saturday night at the Ellice Theatre to honour Rev. Harry Lehotsky.

Marc Gallant / Winnipeg Free Press archives Lehotsky, in front of Maryland Street homes, campaigned for more and better housing for the inner city�s poor.

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HARRY LEHOTKSY: INNER-CITY ANGEL

Rev. Harry Lehotsky, a founder of New Life Ministries at 514 Maryland St., passed away Saturday.

* Lehotsky was raised in New York City, where with his parents he attended the church of Walter Rauschenbusch, known as the Father of the Social Concern movement in America, in that city's Hell's Kitchen area. As a teenager, Lehotsky rejected his family's values. After winding up in hospital after a drug overdose, he devoted his life to God.

* Lehotsky went to North American Baptist College, now Taylor University College, and later the North American Baptist Seminary. He graduated with a Master of Divinity degree in 1982.

* Shortly after graduation, Lehotsky was leading a workshop on urban ministry at the North American Baptist conference in Niagara Falls when several pastors from Winnipeg encouraged him to start a church in their city's West End.

* In Nov. 1983, Lehotsky and his wife Virginia began holding Bible studies in a home on Ellice Avenue. In Feb. 1985, a decision was made to hold worship services there.

* In Oct. 1986, the group moved into 514 Maryland St., and became New Life Ministries, a North American Baptist Conference church.

* Lazarus Housing was founded in 1997. The non-profit company bought and renovated derelict homes, former drug houses and gang hangouts. It renovated more than 100 units of housing.

* Nehemiah Housing was begun in 1998. The non-profit property-management company rented out suites with rent control in renovated buildings to the working poor and people on social assistance.

* Connect 2 was created as a free, private voice-mail box service to help West End residents without phones get jobs.

* West End CIA is a grassroots community council credited with shutting down drug houses, stopping prostitution, and reporting on gang crimes in the area.

* Ellice Cafe and Theatre opened last year to help provide volunteer and employment training.

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Reaching out and speaking out
Rev. Harry Lehotsky's expressions of faith were strong, as were his political opinions:

'This is an offence to common decency. Why are we talking about licensing prostitution? It's almost like prostitution will become a career-day option in schools'

-- On the City of Winnipeg studying in 2001 the prospect of licensing escort services and massage parlours

'We've got little clumps of kids causing a lot of damage. They walk around here with baseball bats and they're stealing purses or bikes, and they get more and more heady each time they get away with this stuff. It just keeps going and no one knows how to stop it'

-- On why the Youth Criminal Justice Act was not adequately curbing youth crime

'Basically, I don't feel that the city and province have made enough progress in regards to housing revitalization in the inner city until we're renovating more than we're demolishing'

-- On why he decided to found Lazarus Housing, which focuses on rehabilitating core-area homes for low-income earners

'Some of these kids are living in a household of drunks, but because one person is 12 years old, they're deemed old enough to look after any young ones. We've got to crack down on those situations'

-- On why a citywide curfew for youth might be a good idea

'I'm no different from anybody else. We all got our stuff'

-- On his suicide attempt 15 years ago

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Ted Haggard

Along with many I have watched the news with regards to Ted Haggard over the last few days. First, let me say that I am saddened by the news of Ted's decisions. I have had the opportunity to listen to him and read his books and go to his conferences. He is an excellent speaker and a man whom God has used greatly. Over the last few days I pulled out his book called the Life-Giving Church and decided to refresh myself of its contents. When I first read it I was blown away with what he had to say because it resonated with my soul about what the church is to be. Two things struck me as I read it again. One- I still believe it to be true! It stirred my soul again with passion for this thing we call church and the body of Christ. Two- it reminded me of Ted's calling. In the book Ted shares his calling into the ministry and identifies with David. As I was reading this I thought: yes, Ted, you do have a heart like David's and you also have experienced the failure and sin that David did. So today I pray for you, for your family, for the Church, for the gay community and for Mr. Jones. Lord have mercy on us all. A friend sent me the following link which I have found very compelling.
http://time.blogs.com/daily_dish/2006/11/the_voice_of_je.html