The Colorado Rockies are the first major league sports franchise organized on specifically Christian principles. That does not mean that the Rockies only sign Christian players. The Rockies' way means "[doing] the best job [they] can to get [the right] people with the right sense of moral values . . ." To that end, prospective Rockies are interviewed to see if they are compatible with the Rockies' approach.

Once players join the Rockies, they are put in an environment that reinforces these values: "Quotes from Scripture are posted in the weight room. Chapel service is packed on Sundays. Prayer and fellowship groups each Tuesday are well-attended."

And off the field, the Rockies players recently proved that the "Rockies' Way" is the right way. Last summer, a minor league coach in the Rockies farm system, Mike Coolbaugh, was killed by a line drive while coaching at first base. The Rockies players have now voted a full share of the team's playoff money for the coach's family. And the Coolbaugh's two sons, five-year-old Joseph and three-year-old Jacob, threw out the first pitch of Game 3 of the National League Championship Series. General Manager O'Dowd "almost started crying" when he learned what the Rockies had done. He said, "It was very emotional for me. It really went to the core of the character we've worked so hard to bring to this organization."

With all the news these days about steroids, cheating, and felony arrests, modern-day pro sports needs a story about the good guys. And athletes need the reminder that it is possible to excel both as a player and as a human being—that character counts.

Careful how you smell, it just makes scents

- John Longhurst

Sun Oct 14 2007

Does your church stink? I'm not asking what you think about the quality of the preaching, singing or fellowship. I mean, does it smell? Or is it scent free?

When it comes to perfume, one person's fragrance can be another person's poison. These are people like Melissa Lesser, a former Winnipegger now living in Alberta. Lesser suffers from Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS). When she encounters someone wearing strongly scented products, she literally can't breathe.

"I get dizzy, lose muscle control and I faint," she says. It's scariest when it happens on a staircase. "That's my biggest fear -- falling down the stairs and hitting my head," she says.

Lesser's reaction is among the most severe to scented products. For that reason, she has to be very careful when she goes out in public. That includes going to church. For this reason, a growing number of churches in Canada are asking people not to wear perfumes, colognes, body sprays and other scented products to worship out of respect for people who suffer allergic reactions to those items.

Fortunately for Lesser, she can breathe easier on Sundays. Her church, Springridge Mennonite in Pincher Creek, Alta., has declared itself to be scent free. It's website declares: "There are people at Springridge who are VERY allergic to scented products, especially perfumes and colognes, strong deodorants like Old Spice and Lady Speed Stick, body sprays, Outrageous and Aussie shampoos, hair gels and sprays that retain their smell when dry, and other strong smelling products. Out of respect for others, please refrain from using these kinds of products while at the Springridge Church."

Closer to home, St. Peter's Anglican Church here in Winnipeg has also gone scent free. "It's an accessibility issue," says People's Warden Jim Daun. "A church should be accessible for everyone."