Pastor Jim Wallace has never been afraid to tackle tough societal issues, even the moral health of the Alberta churches using gambling money. Why would he not allow a fully independent review of his own pastoral performance? Especially the multiple claims of abuse. Why would elders not investigate the claims, rather they did eveything they could surpress them and abuse the claimants even more. Even the local press turned aside the abuse claims. Praise God for Western Standards article "Holy Terror" publically exposing the abuse covered for so long and also for Christian Week's later article. See also the "Beloved Pastor...." article and comments

Calgary pastor blows the whistle
Alberta churches receive gambling funds

By Debra Fieguth - ChristianWeek staff


CALGARY--Long on the forefront of the fight against gambling, Alberta churches have been caught with egg on their faces.

When prominent Calgary pastor Jim Wallace learned through government documents that at least 100 Alberta churches have been recipients of gambling funds over the past four years, he sat on the information for about two months. Then, feeling he had to speak prophetically, he wrote two articles in the Calgary Herald exposing what he describes as the hypocrisy of the church.

In February Wallace, pastor of South Calgary Community Church and former president of the Calgary Evangelical Ministerial Association, wrote an opinion piece protesting the negative, stereotypical image portrayed by the Herald’s cartoonist, Vance Rodewalt. The offending cartoon depicted a clergyman railing against gambling in one frame and insisting on his take in the next. "This is an affront to all Christian ministers," Wallace wrote.

But when he met with a senior Alberta cabinet minister this summer to discuss the concerns Calgary pastors had about video lottery terminals (VLTs), "The cabinet minister told me that caucus members had difficulty in accepting the churches’ criticisms," Wallace writes in an October 2 Herald article.

"For while churches and ministerials were vocal in demanding the removal of VLTs, they were taking millions of dollars from the Alberta Gaming Commission for various projects in their parishes."

Information freely available from the Alberta Gaming Commission indicates that from January 1993 to the present, churches have applied for and received $3,669,022 in gambling revenues. The list includes Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, United, Orthodox, Presbyterian, Alliance, Church of God and other denominations.

Wallace felt betrayed. He was especially hurt to read the names of churches he felt theologically close to. Among them were Foothills Alliance Church in Calgary, which received $125,000 to help build a new building, and People’s Church in Edmonton, which received $30,000 to repair the roof. A camp run by the Christian and Missionary Alliance, he learned, had also received a large sum, as well as an Alliance church in Stoney Plain.

Wallace approached a number of church leaders involved, some of whom claimed they were not aware that the money had come from gambling profits. But Orest Kuska of the Albert Gaming and Liquor Commission told him it is impossible for churches not to know the source of the money.

"It is on our letterhead, on all documentation, on the accounting reports and on the cheque itself when issued," Kuska says.

Alberta, which last month held a conference celebrating its economic growth (see page 2), receives a higher percentage of revenues from gambling than any other province. And the average Albertan puts more money - $214 per year - into gambling than any other Canadian. Earlier this year, ministers and other activists in several smaller Alberta communities successfully campaigned to remove VLTs–the most popular and most insidious form of gambling–from their towns.

Calgary churches also spoke out against VLT gambling. In February the Calgary Evangelical Ministerial Association (CEMA) wrote to Mayor Al Duerr as well as Premier Ralph Klein about the issue. "It is simply not right that the city benefit from the brokenness and pain of those [who] are addicted to this form of gambling," the letter to the mayor says.

Asked forgiveness

Now the church has to admit its complicity. Mike Reitsma, president of the CEMA and pastor of First Christian Reformed Church, says he appreciates Wallace’s articles because "on behalf of the Christian community he confessed and asked forgiveness."

Wallace has received positive response from pastors and church members since the two articles were published. But he wants to make sure people understand he did not approach the issue with a self-righteous attitude. "We all need to take seriously God’s exhortations to holy and righteous living," he says. "If we want God to do something in our church, we better clean up our act."

"My effort is not an effort to tear down the church," he adds. "My effort is to clean up the church."

The difficulty Wallace and others have with gambling is the social cost. Although the Bible doesn’t speak directly against gambling, "the Bible has an awful lot to say, especially in Amos, about justice for the poor," Wallace points out.

"Every study I have looked at has proved unequivocally that those who tend to feed these machines are the lower income people," he adds.

Reitsma suggests there is still a measure of ignorance in the church. Those who accept gambling funds "think this is just free money and they don’t realize the social implications," he points out, citing suicide and bankruptcy among possible effects.

Other churches concerned

Evangelicals are not the only ones who have taken recent stands against gambling. In a joint letter, the bishops of southern Alberta Anglican, Lutheran and Roman Catholic dioceses wrote to their churches in September about several concerns, among them gambling. "We are concerned with the growing dependency of governments and community groups on monies raised through gambling," the bishops write. "We are concerned with the destructive effect gambling can have on people’s lives, especially in its addictive nature, which wrecks individual lives as well as families."

About two-thirds of the churches on the list of recipients are Anglican, Lutheran or Catholic. Anglican bishop Barry Curtis has since said the issue will be on the next synod agenda of the Diocese of Calgary. "We can’t have it both ways," he wrote in a separate letter to parishes. "If we receive [VLT and gambling] money, we will have to remain absolutely mute" on the issue. Wallace and Reitsma hope the recent exposure will serve as a wake-up call. "I hope there’s repentance," says Wallace. "I hope there is a review at the denominational level of some of the policies."

Reitsma adds that the publicity should help churches "to be aware of the destructive nature of the VLTs," and to recognize that "if we receive money [from gambling], then we are participating in evil."

Pastor Wallace also had public comments about the same sex marriage contraversy. He appeared to be speaking for his fellow pastors & ministers. Go to http://www.jimprentice.ca/Documents/Feb6MediaWallace.htm