Serendipity

I had errands to do today, which included things like buying coffee. We’re going through more coffee beans now that I’m working at home, so the last 1/2-pound didn’t last nearly as long as the ones before Christmas used to. With a trip to Cornelia Bean in the cards (Costa Rica Tarazzu and a fair trade medium-roast Bolivian) following lunch at the food court with the wife and in-laws I had some spare time and wandered into Chapters in search of a copy of Strategy magazine… which evidently requires a trip to McNally Robinson.

While searching the newsstand though, I noticed a familiar face on the corner of a familiar mural on the cover of a magazine peeking out at me. Pulling it out to verify that it was indeed Harry Lehotsky on the cover of a magazine, I discovered Beyond Ordinary Living magazine, which has carries a feature article on Harry in the January/February 2007 issue. I noticed that a back issue had a story on Bruxy Cavey as well. It looks to be a small magazine, and unfortunately doesn’t have content from any back-issues posted online.

I found very little, really, in the article that I didn’t already know. However, in the context of Harry’s ministry to one of Winnipeg’s roughest areas, one into which many people might fear to tread, one quote stood out for me. This from a preacher during Harry’s New York days: “The bible says, ‘Perfect love casts out fear.’ The opposite is also true: perfect fear casts out love. People you’re afraid of, you go out and find a way to love them.”

one of the things about Harry’s example is that it’s a good one to keep remembering, to not let go of the lessons we learn from it. In fact, the article concludes most appropriately with the words, “We’re left with the unsettling, exhilarating sense that to honour Harry Lehotsky’s legacy we must follow his example.”