Harry Lehotsky left big shoes to fill
By John Mohan

Seven years ago as 2001 began, I was happily minding my own business pastoring a mid-sized Pentecostal congregation and living the stereotypical middle-class life in Swift Current, Sask., (pop. 16,500). In my early 40s then, I anticipated an eventual mid-life crisis, assuming I would get, in an attempt to recapture my lost youth, a Corvette or a Harley out of it. Well, the crisis came sooner than I anticipated -- and I didn't get a sports car or a motorcycle. Instead, by the end of the year, I moved back to my home province, Manitoba.

POVERTY AND HOMELESSNESS

But the move was one of reluctance. Not because I didn't want to live in Winnipeg, but because I didn't feel qualified to do what I was coming to do: lead a non-profit organization that cared for the inner-city less-fortunate. Also, at the time, I knew very little about the issues surrounding poverty and homelessness.

As I settled into my new role over the next year, various people from church, social and government sectors would ask me: "Have you met Rev. Harry Lehotsky?" While I hadn't yet, I knew of him. Harry was a Winnipeg Sun columnist. He was a social activist. He was a pastor. He was outspoken, fearless and yet compassionate. He loved his wife and three sons. He loved the poor. And he loved Jesus.

Harry was authentically Christian in his beliefs and practices. He believed that God was gracious and compassionate yet present and powerful enough to engage in and restore the fractured humanity of any community. Harry believed people were capable of taking responsibilities for their lives and actions. He believed God could tangibly transform a community and that the church had a responsibility to spearhead community renewal.

When Harry and his wife Virginia moved to Winnipeg from New York City in 1983, they chose to make Winnipeg's West End their life-long home calling. New Life Ministries began with a Bible study then evolved into a congregation that set their local community as their own mission field. I remember him saying how proud he was to raise his family in the old West End, the same community he worked so hard to bring change to.

I first met Harry at a community meeting regarding homelessness and government funding. Someone there was outspokenly upset with him about something, but Harry took it calmly, seemingly unsurprised by the comments or maybe the source, and it was undoubtedly not the first time someone had lobbed an unflattering public remark at him.

GRACIOUS AND DIRECT

Over the next few years, Harry and I interacted often. I looked to him for advice on a broad range of community and government issues. He was always gracious and direct. Sometimes his questions were even more profound than his answers.

The last time I saw him was at a WHHI (Winnipeg Housing and Homelessness Initiative) workshop. As we chatted, it was clear that he wasn't well. A few weeks later, he was diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer. Harry passed into the presence of Christ on Nov. 11, 2006.

As time passed, many friends and colleagues suggested that, in Harry's absence, I speak out on social justice issues from a faith perspective. I found the recommendation both flattering and disconcerting.

To those who disagreed with him, Harry was exasperating. To those who benefited from his initiatives and the wide audience who agreed with his positions, he was a great man of God whose legacy will go on for generations. In his absence, could I continue as a voice for Winnipeg's poor?

Admittedly, there were similarities between Harry and me: both ordained with conservative evangelical denominations, both actively cared for the poor and felt the church should take a greater role. Both led faith-based organizations. Both in our late 40s, with marriages of over 25 years and each with three adult children. Still, Harry had a strong voice in the community and was well-respected.

INITIATIVES

While my approaches and initiatives have a different look than Harry's did, we share the same love for Christ and the poor. I am deeply appreciative for the Lehotsky family's support and permission to be a continuing voice on behalf of the poor, voiceless and powerless through the Winnipeg Sun. I will do my best to be worthy of the responsibility and opportunity to speak for those to whom Harry loved and gave his life work.

Happy New Year. May we work together in creating a just society for all in 2008.

Originally printed in the Winnipeg Sun, Wednesday, January 2, 2008. Reprinted with the permission of Sun Media Corporation.