HomeMy WebLinkAboutHuron Expositor, 2014-04-23, Page 7Forgiveness
'attribute of strong'
Larry Conies
Special to QMI Agency
The stories turn up regularly in the
march of daily events, yet we are no less
astonished each time they do: Someone
offers forgiveness for something that
seems unforgivable.
Early last week, the parents of one -year-
old Lincoln Person, of Buckley, Wash., said
they would forgive the 78 -year-old driver
of a pickup truck that struck and killed
their son.
Lincoln was sitting in a wagon, being
pulled along a walking trail by his father,
when the pickup veered off the highway
and onto the trail.
Just weeks ago, Lincoln had become a
big brother when his parents, Jason and
Robin, welcomed a newborn daughter,
Ruby, into their lives.
"So Ruby had a big brother for a couple
of weeks," pastor Greg Daulton said. Lin-
coln had been named after a U.S. presi-
dent — and had been his dad's "best
buddy."
There was the story of three-year-old
Kienan Hebert who, in the summer of
2011, was abducted from his home in
Sparwood, B.C. The child was taken to a
cabin in Alberta for four days and then,
following the very public pleas of his par-
ents, was returned to his home as surrepti-
tiously as he was taken.
Randall Hopley was later sentenced to
six years in prison for the kidnapping of
little Kienan, though he was spared the
designation of being a dangerous offender
because he hadn't physically hurt the
boy.
Soon after Hopley's arrest, Kienan's
father, Paul, met with his son's abductor.
He thanked him for returning his son
unharmed — and forgave him. Paul and
Tammy Hebert have kept in touch with
Hopley, sending him cards of encourage-
ment and expressing sympathy after the
death of Hopley's mother.
There was the story of London native
and NHL star Rob Ramage, who had been
impaired behind the wheel of a rental car
in December 2003 when it crossed the
centre line and rammed head-on into
another vehicle. Ramage's passenger,
former Chicago Blackhawk defenceman
Keith Magnuson, was killed.
Four years later, as he stood in a Newmar-
ket courtroom between his mother and sis-
ter, Magnuson's son Kevin told a judge at
Ramage's sentencing hearing that "we have
already forgiven Rob:' Magnuson asked the
court to spare Ramage a lengthy prison sen-
tence, so that "Rob's family will not lose
their husband and father, as we have:'
There was the story of the Nickel Mines
shooting in 2006, in which a community of
Amish parents forgave the murderer who
slaughtered five of their children and
injured five more.
In 2009, 43 -year-old British school-
teacher Jo Nodding summoned the
courage to meet with the 17 -year-old boy
who had raped her five years earlier — and
then forgave him.
There are hundreds of similar stories of
tragedy, suffering and forgiveness.
...those who exercised
forgiveness and sought
reconciliation with those
who had injured them had
improved cardiovascular
function, less chronic
pain, fewer episodes of
depression and an
improved quality of life.
For Christians, Easter marks the suffer-
ing, death and resurrection of Jesus of
Nazareth — the cataclysmic events that
ended his three-year ministry and gave
birth to a new religious tradition.
But the Easter story is also laden with
themes and truths in which anyone — reli-
gious or non -religious — can find mean-
ing. The biblical accounts of Jesus' trial
and condemnation speak to the power of
elegant simplicity and truth in the face of
authority. The crucifixion story communi-
cates the human experience with betrayal,
fear, suffering, isolation and darkness. And
the story of Easter morning conveys the
triumph of forgiveness, reconciliation,
rebirth and hope.
American psychoanalyst Jeanne Safer,
author of Must We Forgive?, says her
research shows that forgiveness and rec-
onciliation are much more than high-
minded ideals for the saintly or religiously
inclined.
Through a decade's worth of research,
Safer and her colleagues found that those
who exercised forgiveness and sought rec-
onciliation with those who had injured
them had improved cardiovascular func-
tion, less chronic pain, fewer episodes of
depression and an improved quality of
life.
And just as important as forgiving oth-
ers was forgiving and reconciling with
oneself.
In this way, the Easter story speaks to us
all. And those lessons aren't merely for the
feeble-minded. As Mahatma Gandhi wrote
in his autobiographical reflection, All Men
Are Brothers: "The weak can never forgive.
Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong."
Think the Easter story has meaning only
for Christians? Think again.
Larry Cornies is a London-based jour-
nalist and educator.
Wednesday, April 23, 2014 • Huron Expositor 7
NExTera
ENER
CANADA
NOTICE OF CHANGE TO A
RENEWABLE ENERGY PROJECT
Regarding a Proposal to Engage in a
Renewable Energy Project
Project Name: Goshen Wind Energy Centre
OPA Reference Number: F -002174 -WIN -130-601
Project Location: The proposed Project is located in Bluewater and
South Huron, Huron County, Ontario, as shown in Figure 1.
Dated at the Municipalities of South Huron and Bluewater, Huron
County this the April 16, 2014
Goshen Wind, Inc., (a wholly-owned subsidiary of NextEra Energy
Canada, ULC) is planning to engage in a renewable energy project of which
the issuance of a renewable energy approval is required. The proposal to
engage in the project and the project itself is subject to the provisions of the
Environmental Protection Act Part V.0.1 and Ontario Regulation 359/09.
This notice is being distributed at the request of the Ministry of the
Environment to advise of recent technical modifications proposed to the
Project design. The modifications to the Project involve the removal of
turbines and associated infrastructure at four locations.
The Project Modifications Report (April, 2014) is available on the Project
Website: http://www.nexteraenergycanada.com/projects/goshen.shtml.
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Project Contact and Information: To learn more about the project or to
communicate concerns, please contact:
Derek Dudek
Community Relations Consultant
Goshen Wind, Inc.
390 Bay Street, Suite 1720
Toronto, ON M5H 2Y2
Toll-free Project Line: 1-877-257-7330
Email: Goshen.Wind@NextEraEnergy.com
Website: www.NextEraEnergyCanada.com