WELL DONE, FAITHFUL SERVANT'

Pastor Took On West End's Ills, Dedicated His Life To Curing Them

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."

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.

"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.

"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.