Every parent's nightmare | Macleans.ca - Canada - Features
“Sometimes when we touch
The honesty’s too much”
Such were the epic words of a song I could never quite figure by Dan Hill. I was 11 when it was released and I remember a few sisters enthralled with the Canadian singer/songwriter.
Hill has written an autobiographical account of his family's involvment with Eric Boateng, the young man shot outside a local jail in 2007.
My interest in this story is on several levels. First, the sheer drama of how one family without Christ tries to handle a bad family problem. Second, the connection to the Beaches and Licks, two of my favorite haunts as a High School student in the early 80's. And third, the connection to Regent Park. I will be driving right beside that neighbourhood tomorrow morning (today!) and hope I pray for it like I try to do every time I pass by.
Take note that there is offensive content in the article and please do not read it if necessary.
This is an awesome article. Ironically, I was in the middle of reading it when I saw this blog posting.
ReplyDeleteIt was especially sobering, because there were a handful of 'Erics' that attended my downtown church for a while - some even made professions of faith. One of these boys was a feared street thug in Regent park, but a soft, broken puppy dog around his Christian friends. He was shot in the back and killed after a relapse back into drug dealing. One other was shot and only wounded, after making a profession of faith. He later was implicated for past crimes, spent time in the Don Jail, and left the faith in favour of drug dealing. The stories go on. All this to say, I'm glad this article was printed in MacLeans.
May God revive the Regent parks, Moss parks, Jane-Finches, and Rexdales of Toronto!
Ian.