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Letters to the Editor

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New flags?

 

Wouldn't it be nice if all the Canadian flags that haven't survived the winter and are now only bits of rag on the flagpoles, be replaced with a brand new Canadian flag.

Ruth Thornton,

Tillsonburg

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A note of appreciation

I am part of a church denomination that has been around a long time. The Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church (est. 1782) is one of the oldest denominations in North America, and most of its churches are in the southern United States. But when I told some colleagues in the US what happened to us they were surprised.

In fact, everyone I have told has agreed, the offer of a church building like the one we received is relatively unheard of. Last fall we were faced with a happy dilemma. We were outgrowing our facilities in downtown Tillsonburg, which meant we needed a larger place to gather for worship. As a new and relatively small church, however, there was the challenge of financing and the difficulty in finding a place both suitable and affordable. It was at that point that we were offered the old United Church in Delmer. I confess I am sometimes guilty of a measure of cynicism. Perhaps we are all a bit jaded by stories we have heard of dishonesty and greed. We assume sometimes that generosity among strangers is a thing of the past. It isn’t so.

I chose to write this piece because I wanted to express publicly my appreciation for the man who provided the church building for us.

Thanks to continued growth and the sudden availability of a church building on Glendale Drive, we are now in a position to move back into town. This has been our goal all along: to be accessible to the people of Tillsonburg, particularly those who cannot drive, and to continue our outreach efforts through our Open Doors ministry; which has meant the recent and difficult decision to leave a building that we were growing very fond of.

Although our time in Delmer has proven to be a very brief chapter in the history of our church, it is a season for which we will remain deeply grateful. Mr. Ewart McLaughlin has come to be known by reputation in our church circles because of his kindness to Faith Presbyterian Church; but I wanted to express here my public thanks for a man who – though virtually a stranger – has been such a blessing to us. It is (in part) this kind of ‘old-fashioned’ generosity that makes a community strong, and I feel very grateful to be part of such a community.

Rev. Stephen Richardson,

Tillsonburg

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Euthanasia vs Palliative Care

June 7th is rapidly approaching. By that date, our Canadian government might legalize Physician Assisted Suicide (Bill C-14).

Why our government is even considering making “doctor assisted death” legal is very troubling. It is frightening that the committee recommendations in section 241(5) permit “anyone” to take part in aiding an assisted death and those assisting in this way have no obligation to report the circumstances.

There is little mention in the Bill for conscience protection. According to the Coalition of Health Care and Conscience, a coalition of over 5,000 objecting physicians, this is a signal from the federal government that this issue will be left up to provincial jurisdictions. Do we really want our doctors to be forced to euthanize their patients or make referrals to a doctor who will? What about the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms for them?

Our priority should be to promote palliative care for every Canadian who needs it. Dr. Michelle Korvemaker from Woodstock has stated that presently palliative care is only available to 30 per cent of dying people in Canada. We hear only good things about the care provided at Sakura House for their patients. Many Canadians need to be educated about the value of good pain control so that death occurs in a peaceful, loving manner.

I sincerely hope that many readers will contact our government officials (Prime Minister, Minister of Justice, MP, MPP, etc.), to express their concern about euthanasia becoming legal.

Bonnie De Decker,

Education Convener, Tillsonburg Right to Life 

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