In the southern United States where the Blue’s lived, the Church was organized with a White congregation and a Black mission. On the rare occasions Blacks were invited to attend activities in the White congregation, they were either asked to sit behind a roped barrier in the sanctuary or out in the hallway.

Bill remembers when church reunions were closed to Blacks unless they were employed as workers. At one such reunion where the Blues were serving as cooks, the children were transported to swimming activities in a nearby town. When it came time for Bill’s young daughter, Gwen, to climb on the bus, she was turned away. As Bill recounts, "…this brought tears to my eyes. She was all in her bathing suit ready to go to the pool and …was told she couldn’t go…that nearly broke my heart." Bill is also very quick to acknowledge, however, those who went out of their way to protect him and his family. At another reunion, camp officials heard that a group from a nearby town was planning a midnight raid on the Blue family. Unbeknownst to the Blues at the time, Church members stood guard outside their cabin throughout the night to assure their safety.

Bill’s life-long campaign for equal rights for Blacks within the Church has not been a militant campaign; it hasn’t even been a loud voice of protestation. Instead, it has been a gentle campaign to win the hearts of people one by one. He has lived this philosophy decade after decade and in so doing has been instrumental in bringing the Church to a higher level of understanding and acceptance.

In the community, Al, a certified Chaplain for both Men’s and Women’s prisons, is deeply appreciated for the support he has provided to prisoners throughout the Province. It is also common knowledge that Al and his wife, Hazel, have frequently opened their home to recovering alcoholics and others who have nowhere else to go.

When Al retired from employment, he found a new vocation organizing and leading groups of volunteers to Central American to assist in building schools, water systems, and training centers. Over a two year period, Al, along with over fifty volunteers he recruited, constructed the Centro MeAi Training Center for women in Guatemala.

When Hurricane Mitch struck in 1998, Al all but disappeared from his family for a year as he helped local people reestablish their lives. Driving an old relic of a dump truck, Al hauled sand, gravel, and cement blocks to help rebuild more than 250 homes. When he did come home to Canada for short respites, Al spent his time raising money to help his adopted communities build water systems, latrines, fuel-efficient stoves, and silos. He was also instrumental in raising money to support a new elementary school program for hundreds of children in Honduras.