GOOD JOB, HARRY

REV. Harry Lehotsky was tired and scared in his last months, following
a diagnosis of inoperable pancreatic cancer in May. Doctors said he
had six to nine months to live. They were cruelly accurate. He died
Saturday at age 49, with so much left to do.

Winnipeg mourns the loss of the inner city crusader, the man who
refused to give over his piece of hard-scrabble paradise in the city's
core to the drug dens, prostitutes, gangsters and criminal kids. His
funeral is today.

Despite the fatigue, the relentless pain and the nausea, Harry
Lehotsky continued to hold court as he withered, explaining at length
to reporters the work in progress in the city's West End. His New Life
Ministries Church had already accomplished so much. Fired by Harry's
energy and by the efforts of his evangelical Baptist church's meagre
staff, the neighbourhood fought back amid the decay capitalized upon
by criminals. Rev. Lehotsky chastised in very public, acerbic tones
the trespassers at the sidewalk corner and their enablers, wherever
they were. Drug pushers and politicians all felt his bite. He had no
patience for immorality, malice and disinterest. New Life Ministries
renovated houses, opened low-income rental units and built shelter for
those getting on their feet. The Ellice Cafe and Theatre was opened in
February 2005 to feed the poor a (subsidized) bite in a stylish joint.
The building cost $90,000 and was renovated for $600,000. It is all
but paid off now.

Rev. Lehotsky came to Winnipeg as a new pastor with little experience
in ministering but a certain sense of reality. A New Yorker, he had
overdosed as a young man and was dumped on a street curb, was rescued
and returned to his familial roots in faith. That led him here. "I
didn't have a list when I started... I had to have the willingness to
stumble into things, sense the need and see if God's calling to do
something about it. Then just do it." He was not a humble servant --
more Amos than Micah -- but frank, driven and dedicated to those in
need.

In his 24 years here, Rev. Lehotsky scrounged for every dime he could
wring out of the community. Donors sprang to his side this summer, to
support New Life's works, to honour his legacy. Rev. Lehotsky was
clear about what would be a fitting tribute: Never abandon a
neighbourhood fighting for dignity amid evil. He said every penny
spent on social service should count and accomplish. He showed us how
that is done. He was a faithful servant and a good shepherd. Nice
work, Rev. Lehotsky.