Sunday, January 11, 2004 Tue POST 11 Church & Community Rg PASTOR'S CORNER wars The Dallas Post Cp nN By Pastor Mark DeSilva Fellowship Evangelical Sanctity of Life? It may have been the single most influential decision made in American history. On January 22, 1973, in the controversial Roe vs. Wade case, abortion was legal. Since then it has been esti- mated that over 43 million abortions have taken place in the United States alone. This stagger- ing number represents about 40 times the num- ber of Americans who have died in all American As the 31st anniversary of the Roe vs. Wade decision approaches we are presented with an opportunity to reflect upon this monumental de- cision and consider its impact. Although there are many who claim the decision has helped to liberate women’s reproductive rights, it has done little to substantiate and protect the rights of the pre-born. Despite the fact that pre-born children possess their own unique finger prints, blood type, heartbeat, and brain waves, many today deny the “humanity” of the pre-born and instead choose to describe the child, as a “fetus” rather than a “person”. Ironically, a similar controver- sial decision once marked our nation in regard to the rights of black slaves. In 1857, prior to the Civil War, seven out of nine Supreme Court Jus- tices declared that a black slave named Dred Scott had no personal rights as an American citi- zen and was considered nothing more than the personal property of his slave owner. Sadly, it took many years and even a Civil War to over- turn that decision. Is it possible that in a similar fashion it may be time to re-examine the legal rights of the pre-born and reverse Roe vs. Wade? To answer this question it is crucial to under- stand that God Himself, ascribes great worth and personhood to the pre-born in His Holy Bible. In fact, in the Mosaic Law, God made pro- vision for the protection of the pre-born (Exodus 21:22-25). Furthermore, the Bible makes no dis- tinction between pre-born and infant children. Several Greek and Hebrew words are used inter- changeably for both. In addition, Scripture also uses personal pronouns to describe a pre-born child (Psalm 139:13-16; Jeremiah 1:5; Galatians 1:15-16). Yet pro-choice advocates continue to argue that personhood is only established when an infant possesses the capacity to live inde- pendently from its mother. This argument of vi- ability however, appears to ignore the legal rights of any individual who depends on life sup- port or any other medical treatment for life. ‘While it can be said that the topic of abortion is a “moral” issue, it may also be said that it is a le- gal issue, which necessitates the human rights of the pre-born to life, liberty, and the pursuit of Idetown United Methodist Idetown Rd., Lehman The Idetown Congregation will be joining with their sister congregation Lehman UMC at Lehman through March 2004 for Worship services and Christ- ian Education on Sundays. The Idetown Church is not closed, only joining with Lehman for these months as we journey on as the church of Jesus Christ and please note the times for worship and sunday school un- der Lehman Methodist below. Lehman United Methodist 1011 Mt. Lehman Sunday Worship, 10:30 a.m. Sunday School for preschool through adult, 9:30 a.m. 2nd and 4th Sundays, Youth group at 7:30 Shavertown United Methodist 163 North Pioneer Shavertown Prayer time 7:15 p.m. St. Luke’s Reformation Lutheran Tunkhannock Rd., Noxen Sunday School is 9:30 a.m. and Church Service at 11 a.m. View Drive, Ave. Wednesdays, 7- Davis Street in Shavertown. SPIRITUALIST CLAIRVOYANT CARD READER ADVISOR All problems of life. Reunite the separated. Other readings available. $5.00 Off With Ad Candles Oils Aromatherapy 451-1773 CHURCH NOTES St. Paul’s Lutheran RR 4 Box 627A (off of 118), Dallas Saturday Evening Service at 5:30 weekly. Annual reports by committee chairpersons and organizations are due in the church office no later than January 2. St. Therese’s 64 Davis Street, Shavertown Back Mountain Youth Coun- cil accepting new members for junior high grades 6-8 and high school grades 9-12. For more info. call Denise at 696-1144. Volunteers needed to help with homebound meal prepara- tion. For more information , or to add your name to the volun- teer list, contact Jean at the rec- tory, 696-1144. Married couples’ night away, February 20 and 21. Trinity Presbyterian 105 Irem Rd., Dallas Saturday evening services will not be held during the month of January. They will re- sume Feb. 28. Trucksville United Methodist 40 Knob Hill Rd., Trucksville Sunday Services are at 8:30 and 11 am. Sunday School classes for all ages are held at the Educational Facility on Sundays, 9:45-10:45. St. Therese’s Ski Night Join the Back Mountain Senior High Youth Council for a night of skiing at Montage Mountain January 17 from 4 to 10 p.m. For more information and to reserve a spot contact Denise Mur- phy at 696-1144. R.S.V.P. by Thursday, January 12. Winter Gala St. Therese’s Winter Gala will be Friday, Jan. 30 from 6:30 to 10:30 p.m. at the Appletree Terrace. Cocktails, hors de oeuvres, buffet, open bar and music by Windfall will be featured. Cost is $30 per person. For information call the rectory at 696-1144. Back Mountain Senior Citizens The Back Mountain Seniors meet on the first Thursday of the month, starting at 1 p.m. in St. Thereses’ Hall at Pioneer Ave. and For information call Lil at 696-1828 or Marie at 696-3095. 149 N. Main St., Shavertown Dave Spurlin (Formerly Dallas Exxon) 675-3336 We Do It All! Auto » Commercial * Residential 596 Carey Ave, Wilkes-Barre 822-8133 GLASS APPLIANCES REFRIGERATION PARTS Refrigerators * Freezers + Air Conditioners Daily All Makes + Cold Controls * Fan Motors 8:30-5:00 Relays * Defrost Timers * Door Gaskets Sat. Bring in model # and old part. Tiooh APPLIANCE PARTS & SUPPLY 936 Market Street, Kingston AUTO BODY REPAIR Complete Auto Body Repairs 1644 Murray St., Forty Fort Complete Collision On All Makes & Models Established 1975 FREE ESTIMATES GIADOSH ENTERPRISES GUTTERS T0 ADVERTISE ON THIS GUTTERS CLEANED & REPAIRED ALUMINUM LEAF GUARDS NOJOB TOO SMALL FREE ESTIMATES 267-3262 ue vss PAGE CALL FURNITURE oo Yolunteer (continued from page 1) player. We couldn’t see any injury and she really wanted to continue play- ing. Jeff was in the stands and we called him over to take a look at her and he suggested that she sit out,” said Flossy. “We found out later that she could have ended up with a serious surgery if she had continued playing.” Jeff Pace graduated from E.L. Mey- ers High School in 1972, earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Health and Physical Education from East Stroudsburg State University, a mas- ter’s degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a de- gree in Physical Therapy from the Medical College of Georgia. He started a private practice in phys- ical therapy in 1988 but prior to that, he taught and coached sports teams for Garden Spot High School, Lake- Lehman and Dallas high schools. “l was fortunate to be a student trainer under Jack Jones, a great foot- ball coach for Dallas,” said Jeff, who is also a member of the Lake-Lehman Hall of Fame for his work as a sports trainer for the 1981 state champi- onship wrestling team. Jeff and his wife, Joyce, have two children, Jeffrey, a senior, and Stephanie, a freshman at Dallas High School. “I started coaching Jeff’s soc- cer team when he was 6. I coached his . baseball and basketball teams, also,” he said. In addition, Pace coached his daugh- ter’s teams for soccer, basketball, soft- ball, and, most recently, he has coached a travel field hockey team. For the last seven years, Pace has been POST PHOTO/M.B. GILLIGAN Jeff Pace has become a fixture at youth sports events, as parent, coach, fan and trainer. “He’s a remarkable citizen, friend, coach and therapist.” Florence “Flossy” Finn Dallas coach for the successful girls travel soc- cer team called Sting. He didn’t even quit when his daughter decided to take a year off. “I just love seeing the smiles on their faces. I've had the great opportunity to work with them when they're young and to let them know that no person on the team is more important than anyone else,” said Pace. “Sports is a wonderful way to encourage kids and make them feel good about them- selves.” One of his teaching tactics is to list 10 things such as sportsmanship, team spirit and winning, and to ask the kids to rank them. “I tell them winning is last but if they do everything else, they’ll proba- bly win,” he said. Pace has always made a point of say- ing each teammate’s name and some encouraging word to them after every game. “I learned early on that one of the best things you can hear is your name and I always look them in the eye when I say it,” he said. Upon graduation from the Medical College of GA, Jeff volunteered as a trainer for both the Dallas and Lake- Lehman teams. At that time, their schedules were fixed so that those teams had home games every other weekend and Back Mountain football fans always had a local game to see. “It was pretty interesting that year because I was trainer for both teams at the Old Shoe game,” said Pace. “The coaches were good about it and I went into the locker rooms of both teams.” Pace doesn’t limit his volunteerism to sports. He has been a Shriner with Irem Temple for 28 years, worked on the Nursery School Board and the Pas- tor’s Parish Relations Committee for Trucksville United Methodist Church, teaches CPR for the American Heart Association and cleans up a section of Upper Demunds Road. “I feel very lucky that I've been able to work with great parents and coach- es,” he said. “I'm not doing anything great. Anybody can do it.” The Back Mountain community has been very lucky to have Jeff Pace as a volunteer. “He’s a remarkable citizen, friend, coach and therapist,” concluded Flossy Finn. “That’s why I wrote that letter.” Deadline: Monday At Noon T0 ADVERTISE ON THIS PAGE CALL 829-1130 ext 6257 674-5970 or 1-866-399-5296 Haul All, Free Estimates Kingston SMALL REPAIRS Those you don't get fo... Those you can’t do UPHOLSTERY HANDY MAN PROMPT RESPONSE ® REASONABLE RATES Back Min. Resident 35 Years Fred (570) 675-0429 HEALTHCARE MAZURS REUPHOLSTERY Sofas + Kitchen Sets « Chairs * Boat Seats, Etc. Free Estimates & Deliv "We're Here To Serve You Better” R.D.#4 Dallas * 639-1721 LINDA or TERRY AT BOB'S | Regluing and Caning Estimates ¢ Pickup ¢ Delivery 675-3012 Joseph Vavrek, H.1.S. "Better Hearing is Better Living" Hearing Instrument Specialist Specializing in Assisted Living, Nursing Homes, and In Home : Testing. Fitting in your daily environment, to suit your hearing needs. 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