Harry's Manifesto for Policy Change (Winnipeg)

Guest Speaker: The Rev. Harry Lehotsky, Inner-City Activist and Change Agent

The Reverend Harry Lehotsky leads an inner-city Winnipeg church called New Life Ministries, founded in 1983. From its humble beginnings in a west-end home, the church under his leadership grew into a powerful force in its challenged neighbourhood, not only serving its spiritual needs but, through a proactive involvement in community development, becoming its economic and political voice as well. Through his extensive involvement in the church’s social housing program, Harry learned about public sector barriers to development and played a prominent part in his neighbourhood’s calls for improved public safety. Hear how both the public and private sectors can improve their delivery of services in context of high-crime, poverty and despair. Join us for a summary of the lessons learned from a life of service in the urban trenches, under the most challenging of circumstances. PDF version

About the Guest:A native of New York City, the Rev. Harry Lehotsky first preached there and in Chicago. In November, 1983, he and his wife were asked by the Manitoba Baptist Association, a group of 16 churches interested in community service, to found a ministry in inner-city Winnipeg. From modest beginnings, New Life Ministries grew and purchased the site of its church on Maryland Street. Lehotsky founded Lazarus Housing, which has successfully renovated over 100 units of housing in that neighbourhood, and currently leads the management of the church's ministry in the Ellice Café & Theatre down the street. A weekly editorial columnist for the Winnipeg Sun, as well as a speaker and consultant on urban ministry and community development in Canada, the U.S. and abroad, Lehotsky has received the City of Winnipeg's Community Service Award as well as a Queens Jubilee Medal. He and his wife, Virginia, who works at the Addictions Foundation of Manitoba, are parents to three sons they raised in the west end. A graduate of the North American Baptist Seminary with a Masters degree in Divinity and the Seminary Consortium for Urban Pastoral Education, Lehotsky was ordained by the North American Baptist Conference.

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