AT A recent meeting of our church’s official board, a
committee that I chair proposed a program to heip AIDS
patients and their families, in conjunction with St. Paul’s

Hospital.

When the motion to approve
the program came to a vote, only
one individual out of approxi-
mately 40 present voted against it.

Given that I’m a member of
The United Church of Canada —
seen by many as the most liberal
-of the major Protestant .

‘ denominations — the results of
this vote might not seem too star- .
fling.

However, as the church’s 1988
decision to ordain homosexuals as -
clergy showed, issues related to

. human sexuality stitl have the
potential to be divisive and pain-
ful.

My church’s decision to do
something about a disease that, at

" Jeast in this part of the world, af-

‘| fects mostly homosexuals said to

me that we've come a long way.
‘Despite The United Church's
reputation for taking up causes
that a certain columnist in this
newspaper loves to hate, there’s
no way my church would have
been ready to lend a hand to the

‘s homosexual community 26 years

ago. .
Neither would church members
have extended cautious support to

“ same gender covenanting services,

o¢ approved the extension of
church benefit packages to same
‘gender partners, both of which

Catherine

a ei RE Ts
JUST ADD WATER
they did at the 1992 General
Council (the church’s highest
court).

These moves were significant.
not just because The United
Church is Canada’s largest Pro-
-testant denomination.

Like many people, I believe The
United Church (formed in 1925 in
this country) reflects to a great ex-
tent what is happening in Cana-
dian society,

The church operates democrat-

Deep Cove expects
Same amenities as
other communities

Dear Editor: :

a have read swith increasing in-
~  ferest’ the: various Setters in the
; North Shore News addressing the .

:icissue of a recreational needs

_- assessment for the Deep Cove/
Doliarton area.

"LT wani to‘add my voice to those

“who. seek. .effective  short- and

. long-term planning for the area.

.. Deep . Cove/Dollarton — tradi-
tionally has prided itself as being

somewhat maverick and

sutenomous. from the rest of the
North Shore. When it was a
«small, underdeveloped area domi-
nated by remodelled cottages, the
_ community clearly could not af-
ford many amenities, nor did it
necessarily want or need them.
As a focal resident for 13 years,

however, I have seen Deep Cove -

evolve into a- densely-populated,
upwardly-mobile comnaunity
dominated by upscale housing and
middle-class expectations. _
_. With so significant an increase
in the local-.tax base, residents
‘rightly. expect the kinds of ameni-
“ties provided in other,  siinilar
communities.

Yet we lack even the most basic
- Services. .
.~ For. instance, Panorama Park
has no swings, Myrtle Park only
three, with minimal structured

- play -areas- and equipment | for:

~ smali children. Nor can they play
on the Catés Park beach because
sso much broken glass is strewn
about.

Nor can I send my two pre-
/ teens by. public transportation to
-recCentre Ron Andrews, as no
“bus service is provided on that
“section of Mt. Seymour Parkway.
How, therefore, are non-driving,
non-chauffeured adolescents ex-

pected to get ta the new teen
drop-in centre located at the Ron
Andrews site, and home'again?

Nor can my family readily go
cycling when no off-road paths
are provided in the area and we
are disinclined to take . young
children on the busy Parkway and
Dollarton Highway. Nor can my
family even take a walk together
along our waterfront as .no

-seawalk is provided for local resi-

dents. If the status quo continues
Deep Cove clearly wil! be in
danger of becoming a suburban
desert. 7

Counci! obviously has actively
encouraged housing development

in the area but seems unwilling to ~

return any of the resulting tax

monies by way of local services.
Imagine a seawalk linking

Panorama Park and Cates Park.

‘Contemplate a well-planned net-

work of off-road bicycle paths,
ultimately linking up with the
SeaBus terminal to provide a
commuting and recreational alter-
native.

Consider an integrated network
of safe and inviting recreational
facilities and areas linked by ef-
fective public transportation and
appealing to all age groups.

Why is council so unwilling to
acknowledge that the Deep
Cove/Dollarton community now
requires careful recreational plan-
ning?

What will it take for council to
reactivate Mr. Crist’s earlier-
defeated motion that a full-scale
needs analysis be undertaken?
Where are our tax monies being
spent?

Renie Sadlier-Brown
North Vancouver

Friday, September 25, 1992 - North Shore News - 7

Mastering the Canadian art of compromise

icaily and has mastered the
quintessentially Canadian art of
compromise.

The United Church is somewhat
cautious (still pulled by its conser-
vative roots) but is constantly try-
ing to do the just, compassionate
thing.

The church’s decision to offer
some support to gays and lesbians
who want a covenanting service to
celebrate their commitment proo-
ably reflects the views of many
Canadians.

After hearing petitions for and
against, and after much impas-
sioned debate, the General Coun-
cil voted by secret ballot to urge
its churches across the country
“to give serious consideration to
the implications for the ministry
and mission of the Church of
same gender covenants."’

Further, the motion asks that
the church’s Division of Mission
make resources available for same
gender covenants and asks the
division to consult with gays and
lesbians in this task.

As North Vancouver resident
and United Church minister Jim
Elliot points out, the church did
not strongly affirm same gender

. covenants.

What's more significant for
Elliot is that people from opposite
sides of the church heard each
other.

“The church decided to move at
a pace that’s not going to be
disruptive to the life and work of

z a

DUM DA-DEE-Dooo

DEE. DUM- DEE.- DA-
PEE-DOOO...
dd IN AN ENGLISH
COUNTRY
GA-AA-ARDEN

fF

the church, and to care for people
who aren’t able to accept this
change,”’ Elliot explains.

What's noteworthy, but not
surprising, is that much of the
media coverage of the church’s
decision gave the public the im-
pression that The United Church
was endorsing same gender mar-
riages (the difference in meaning
between the terms covenant and
marriage is too subtle for most of
the media, 1 suppose).

Of course, The United Church
can’t marry homosexuals since
marriage is still a legal contract
under the state’s jurisdiction.

There won't be a sudden surge
in same gender covenanting ser-
vices simply because, as in the
case of ordination of homosex-
uals, the local congregation has
the power to say yea or nay to
such services.

Rev. Bob Burrows, minister at
St. David’s United Church in
West Vancouver, says that many
ministers feel uncomfortable
about performing covenanting
services because of a lack of abili-
ty to work with publicly
declared Bays and lesbians.

For ministers and congregations
to be more accepting wil) require
“an education process, the experi-
ence of meeting and dialoguing
with gays and lesbians,’ says
Burrows.

It’s also clear that gays and les-

bians will only ask for a cowenan- ;

ting service if they feel ‘‘safe’’

a church (significantly, General
Council acknowledged that the
church is often not a safe place
for gays and iesoians to engage -"
openly in dialogue with others).

Rosemary Carnahan, the aa-
tional spokesman for Affirm, the
gay and lesbian movement within
The United Church, is one of a
very few gays and lesbians who
had a covenanting service in her
church (a smail number of United
Church ministers have been per-
forming same gender covenanting
services inside and outside church
buildings).

To Carnahan, it wasn’t surpris-
ing that the church’s decision on
same gender covenants didn’t stir
up the controversy in the media
that the gay ordination issue did
in 1988.

““It's not newsy anymore. It’ 's
much more part of a process.”*

Just as orpanizations like The
United Church, the City of Van-
couver, B.C. Hydro, Simon Fraser
University are extending certain
employee benefits to same gender
partners, increasingly all of us will
have to face issucs regarding the
treatment of homosexuals.

For the past few years, gays and
lesbians have been telling members
of The United Church, ‘“We're
not going to go away. You have - -
to talk to us.”” :

. That applies to ail of us —.
whether we're inside or outside a *
church.

EE IK 00 wat

fT EMROPEAN |; -
j}. EURRENCY \

West should make ‘united stand

Dear Editor:

It would appear that we have
erred in our choice of repre-
sentatives in the government —
can’t anyone think and speak for
themselves? Instead of a fair deal
for the West — we are being sold
down the river along with some of
the other provinces.

Mulroney has the premiers
jumping through hoops at his
bidding. He is pulling off the big-
gest swindle and double-cross of
any century: Quebec and Ontario
having a greater strangle-hold on
this country than ever! Ad_ in-
finitum.

if the other provinces had ail
stuck together they would have
had some clout. How could they

even consider let alone agree to
these terms? It is so stupid it is
criminal.

We are disappointed in Mike’

Harcourt and Mary Collins’ weak
acceptance of it. Chuck Cook
stood out as having some in-
telligence and thinking for
himself.

We will remember this at the
next election.

It means if it (the constitutional
agreement) goes through (and
can’t you hear~ Mulroney
laughing?) — that Quebec and
Ontario get more than they were
demanding or ever dreamed
pessible -— especially Ontario,
there is the danger.
Canada but not at that expense.

A united —

B.C. and Alberta should have
made a united stand. We-get a .
fairer deal — or else. It seems to
work.

When Canada is in such a fi-..
nancial state — why increase the —
burden on the taxpayers? A
greater number of MPs means
more expense —- more bureaucra-
cy. : .
Vancouver and B.C. will prob-
ably grow at a greater rate than
any other province and then it will
be too late. :

If there is a referendum and |
there should be — remember we
are voting for our lives.

Gwen McDowall
North Vancouver