Letters to the Editor

PHOTOGRAPHER: Letters to the Editor

Is city about to lose another building?
Is Schenectady about to lose another old building to decay and inaction? It appears that the foundation is crumbling on the building at State Street and Washington Avenue. Does anyone know if it’s simply cosmetic or a real danger? It will be a shame if action isn’t taken before winter weather takes a final toll. Other work is taking place at that intersection, but nothing appears to be happening there, and the entire place continues to deteriorate. Can someone get into action here before it’s too late?
Anita Walther
Schenectady

Grateful for article on St. Clare’s crisis
I would like to kindly thank John Cropley, Gazette business editor, for the article “Somebody Dropped the Fiduciary Ball”, that appeared on the front page of Sunday’s Daily Gazette regarding St. Clare’s Hospital retirees’ pension termination. On behalf of myself and fellow retirees, we applaud you for an outstanding article and we want to extend our sincere appreciation for a job well done. We’re all trying extremely hard to have our voices heard, and this article truly did just that. The hardship we’re feeling is enormous, the feelings are raw, our futures look bleak and the devastation is real for we the retirees and our families.
We’re kindly requesting local community leaders and/or government officials to lead us in a direction for assistance in acquiring restitution of our pension funds. We have established an online petition and respectfully request the community to help our cause by signing the petition. We thank you and appreciate it.
Patricia Pangburn
Schenectady
The write is a St. Clare’s Hospital retiree.

Ashamed by church over gay marriage
I’m a lifelong member of the Episcopal Church, and it was with great sadness I read the recent pastoral letter from the Bishop of Albany, the Right Reverend William Love. His decision to prohibit same-sex marriage in any Episcopal church in the Albany Diocese, which he says is based on his review of scripture, (and presumably his private conversations with God), flies in the face of the stated beliefs of the American Episcopal Church on this subject.
His bizarre decision isn’t only at odds with his own national church, but also a great many of the more enlightened Protestant churches. It’s also totally out of step with the thinking of the majority of the American people.
It has been my admittedly limited experience of Bishop Love that he’s usually not prepared to debate his controversial decisions. I imagine it will be this way in this instance also. It’s almost as though he’s working from a script that has been written for him.
His inability to recognize that same-sex couples are just as able to enjoy lasting, caring and godly relationships as any other couple, and that the Episcopal Church should be willing to recognize the holiness of such commitments by encouraging their marriage in the sight of God, is quite pathetic.
The Episcopal Diocese of Albany is in decline. I can only imagine that this decision will hasten its demise. Perhaps this is for the best; his decision fills me with shame.
Michael Bishop
Schenectady