It was a good article, but I feel I read it in a newspaper, not The Observer. I didn’t expect The Observer to be part of a process where a Christian is vilified.

G. A. Mayhew
Victoria

At the time I chaired the Toronto Conference Interview Board, candidates for ministry were required to have psychological testing. The testing psychologist observed, “People in different fields come to me wanting to better understand themselves and how they relate to people. Theological students appear to resist testing, considering it a stress-producing invasion of privacy.” Eventually, testing was dropped.

(Rev.) J. Malcolm Finlay
Toronto

The article refers to a Government of Ontario website where one can verify that a minister is indeed authorized to perform weddings. Unfortunately, the information is seriously in error. In my own case, the website continues to list me as living in a community I left eight years ago. In other cases, clergy in my own community who are no longer in parish ministry are still listed; so are retired clergy who have given up their licences; so are United Church clergy who have left the province. The proper information about my address was sent to the government eight years ago. Conference has continued to send this information since then to no avail. The information provided by the government could lead to significant error. And no one in government seems to want to fix the problem. Caveat emptor. At least where marriage is concerned.

(Rev.) David Shearman
Owen Sound, Ont.

Excellent article on coffee (Cover story, February), and points well-taken. I drink more than the average 90 litres per year and I have started taking fair trade coffee seriously. I am on a disability pension but am wealthy compared to what people growing coffee beans for us are paid and how they live. I can no longer justify paying “beans” for coffee at the expense of another person’s comfort and dignity. If that means I pay a premium for what is far superior coffee to that served at Tim Hortons, I can live with that. More importantly, the growers and their families can live better with that.

Fletcher O’Flaherty
Hamilton

You left me wondering about the money. Consider: At $13.95 per pound, fair trade costs about $7 more than regular coffee. Today’s free market price is about $1.20 per pound. The fair trade dividend to the farmer is 16 to 25 percent. Twenty-five percent of $1.20 is 30 cents. So I pay $7 extra of which the farmer receives 30 cents. Where does the other $6.70 go?

Lloyd Karges
Listowel, Ont.

There are billions more people in the developing world who would benefit from fair trade and other businesses if only they had access to Fair Finance to start their business, to climb out of poverty and to control their own lives. Thirty-three years ago, the United Church, along with others in the World Council of Churches, founded the Ecumenical Developmental Cooperative Society, the first international micro-lending co-operative. Today the EDCS, or Oikocredit as it is now called, is the largest micro-lending co-operative in the world, with more than 30,000 investors who provide credit to some 11 million borrowers worldwide. Anyone in Canada can invest, which brings a modest monetary return and a rewarding social return to the investor and also changes the world for a billion of the poorest people.

Jo Jamieson
Victoria

The Gospel of Judas (Faith, February) was written in the second century AD. We have no text in the original language, just a fourth-century translation. It comes from the Gnostics, who wanted to make Christianity into a secret society. The early church agreed that Gnosticism was not what Christianity was all about. It says Judas was a good guy. The Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John were written in the first century, early enough that the writers could have spoken with some of the participants in the drama. We have complete manuscript evidence from the fourth century as well as fragments from the second and third centuries, all in the original Greek. The early church did all it could to make the story in these Gospels public. They agree that Judas was a bad guy. Who ya gonna believe?

(Rev.) Alan Craig
Brampton, Ont.

It seems that in handling this discovery, the normal scholarly processes were bypassed (open access to sources, peer review). Now a better copy of the original text is available, and the earlier translation that portrayed Judas positively was quite flawed. Of course, the notion that a gospel written much later than the New Testament Gospels can give us a more accurate picture of Judas and Jesus is suspect. It can tell us something about Gnostic Christianity, but that is a different matter. More concerning is our tendency to jump onto the latest discovery about Jesus that promises to challenge and change everything. Let’s take a deep breath. Most of these, when studied closely, change very little.

(Rev.) Greg Smith-Young
Elora, Ont.

The importance of the Gospel stories is not that they reveal history but that they are stories in which we find a place. We are the children Jesus gathers to his knee. We are Peter who denies, Judas who betrays and Mary who stands at the empty tomb. When we try to rehabilitate Judas, is it because we do not want to face reality about ourselves?

(Rev.) Robert Thaler
New Hamburg, Ont.

The editor in his proud statement of The Observer’s history (Observations, February) neglected its Presbyterian roots in not acknowledging the Dundee, Scotland-based Scots Magazine among long-lasting publications. The latter has been published continuously since 1739 and was certainly among the instruments of Scottish Enlightenment that, with the diaspora of Scots over the years, have influenced so many of North America’s institutions, including the United Church.

Iain J. McGilveray
Ottawa

Frequent topics in The Observer are church closures (Church-wise, February), amalgamations, declining attendance and giving. Is there no good news in these times? Are there no thriving congregations left? These “doom and gloom” stories give a person one more reason to abandon ship.

Rob Johnston
Toronto

The naysayers and doomsday proponents are out in force. Membership is down, costs are up, old programs are no longer functioning. The national office is reducing funding of some programs and throwing money away on others. Doesn’t that fit those of us whose feet are firmly mired in the last century, the way it used to be? For those stepping out boldly to embrace the 21st century, the next decade is crucial. If we move forward with open minds, we may not recognize ourselves in 10 years. We are about to reinvent ourselves. What an opportunity and what a challenge! Don’t give up on Emerging Spirit too soon. Come back in five years and let’s see where we are.

J. P. Hugh Sproule
Port Alberni, B.C.

My delight was the same as Susan Smith’s (My View, February) when I discovered a place of worship where there was “freedom of thought and expression.” We are encouraged to discuss and ask questions. We accept people of other faiths, other sexual orientations, etc., because they are all “divine expressions of God,” to echo a phrase our minister, Rev. David Hart, often uses. It is wonderful to have found such a spiritual home. Thank you, Susan, for putting into words what I have felt.

Anne Hebb
Halifax

I am rather appalled at the direction the General Council Executive is taking on wage parity with the private sector (At Issue, February). The result in other non-profits has too often been the appointment of highly skilled personnel who have no understanding of the culture and issues they have to manage. The culture and bottom line of the marketplace are not the culture and bottom line of a faith community. Those who choose to work in non-profit sectors know that their work will not, and cannot, be valued monetarily.

Patricia Beurteaux
Elliot Lake, Ont.

After more than 50 years of active participation and two terms of overseas duty with the church, I am interested in the issues that only The Observer brings forward. I found the January issue sparkling with issues, capped off with Janet Silman’s “Are all religions equal paths to knowing God?” Thanks.

Lee Evans
Salt Spring Island, B.C.

The February issue is the best I think I have ever read, and I have subscribed for over 50 years. One article after the other was gripping, pertinent and challenging. Blessings on your work. You are bringing the diverse face of the United Church to all its congregations.

Edna Caldwell
Shanty Bay, Ont./h3>

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