Re. The End Of Slavery letter, October

I was disappointed with Phil Callaway's A Fork In The Road. It perpetuates the stereotype of desperate housewives and raises the specter of violence with the inclusion of spanking in the daily routine. Hitting children, even if they have been ominously "warned" by a mother clearly on the edge, is not funny.

Re. your new policy of making many of the People and Places photos only available at your website and not in the printed magazine. I think this is a misguided policy. I know that this is an important section for many readers. Many people find it difficult to sit and read a magazine or other things of this length on the Web. Others (thinking of retirement home residents, for example, or those with limited economic means who do not have the Web at home or those who do not have it by choice) may not have access to look at this on the Web. This is a section of the magazine that helps keep them in touch with friends and acquaintances.

As a happily married heterosexual woman without children, I am offended by the argument that marriage without children is not really marriage. Michael Coren (October) uses this argument to oppose same sex marriage. He writes, "Sex between people of the same gender can by its very nature never result in new life and is in the final analysis a selfish act. . . and never a means to that most glorious of ends, God-given life."

Re. Pop Grammar, Letters, October

Re. Same Sex Marriage Minister Punished, October

I read with interest Old Tosh and Balderdash by Andrew Faiz in October. While I agree with the content and argument presented, I believe he does a disservice to the authors of the books noted in the article. He implies The Eight by Katherine Neville, and The Rule of Four by Ian Caldwell and Dustin Thomason, were written in response to The Da Vinci Code. In fact, Ms. Neville's book was written in 1988, preceding the publication of Dan Brown's blockbuster by 15 years! The Rule of Four was published nearly a year after Da Vinci, but I would be very surprised if they had not written the greater part of their book before the 2003 publication date of The Da Vinci Code. I agree both are wonderful reads, but let's get our facts straight! They do not "try to distance themselves from Da Vinci." although perhaps sales of both books have increased as a result of the popularity of Da Vinci. A happy accident indeed, but definitely an accident. And that is my final contribution to keeping the story alive.

Re. Editorial, October

I read with great pleasure the article about Azucena Antunez in October. It is good to know that Canadians will get to know her and the work of Soynica.

On the weekend of May 28, Durham Presbyterian celebrated its 150th anniversary. We were honoured to have then-Moderator Rev. Richard Fee attend these celebrations.

Re. Andrew Faiz' Sunday Morning Dysfunction, July/August.

I read Phil Callaway's article in September and my heart goes out to his family. I watched my mother slowly deteriorate for nearly 11 years after my dad died and it was the hardest thing I have done in my adult years. My mother, my best friend for years, didn't remember who I was and at the end while I held her hand I prayed that she knew it was me with her.

In response to David Campbell's September letter: Nobody needs to revert to the Holiness Code in Leviticus to find support for traditional ethical precepts. There are sufficient texts in the New Testament to support conservative views on homosexual practice, same-sex marriage, etc. The Greek word porneia covers all unacceptable sexual behaviour. Jesus clearly defined marriage for us: Mt. 19:5. This is nothing to chuckle about.

I thought you should know that the September issue set a record by arriving in my mail box in B.C. on August 24.

The old Presbyterian church where I was confirmed as a teen, dies more with each passing year. The pews are sparsely filled, mostly by seniors while the Sunday school classes continue to dwindle. I'm now in the church alumni association as John Spong puts it, yet I do not obtain the least bit of glee at seeing the demise of the church, especially where there is any suffering involved. Owen Thornton states, "we still do have the best deal in town" and that "its just a matter of spreading the word." I'm sure Thornton is a kind and greatly respected man but in my humble opinion, statements like this need to be seriously studied and questioned. Less than a year ago, (Oct. 2004), David Harris wrote his excellent article on Churches Must Change Or Be Changed. In it he quotes Prof. Bibby as saying, "What is required is a clear cut strategy that is informed by sound research and sound congregational input." I might add to this non-congregational input, since the focus increasingly needs to be on the reasons of those who prefer not to attend church.

What will it take to get you to stop excluding males from the front covers of our church magazine that have to do with Youth and Sunday School news items?

Youth Voice, in September, is one of the most dynamic issues, and your staff and the contributors are to be congratulated.

One of the greatest benefits of becoming a member of St. Andrew's, New Liskeard, Ont., recently is getting the Record. I look forward to it every month. Your emphasis is, as the kids used to say, Right on.

We do not need the government to get involved in reducing poverty overseas, when we all know the problems of the dictators and politicians getting at the funds before they are distributed to where they are required.

As a Canadian, I could have done without that scolding from David Harris in September. Perhaps he's right we can afford more aid to Africa, but I for one object to sending our tax dollars to keep some dictator and his wives in luxury cars. I would recommend that for a country to be eligible for financial aid, a responsible government, hopefully one elected, has to be in place and there should be demonstrable benefit to the people in the projects they undertake. Food and medicinal aid are a different matter, but again, accounting for the distribution of these should be mandatory. Debt forgiveness may have a sweet ring to it, but how many times should a given country have its debts forgiven? I suggest once.