Convocation Address Victoria University, May 12, 2011 Rev. Susan Eagle President Gooch, Chancellor Cecil, Chancellor Peterson, Principal Toulouse, Moderator Mardi Tindall, Fellow Honouree, Dr. McAuliffe, Ladies and Gentlemen, I thank the Senate of Victoria University for bestowing this honour on me today. It came as a surprise and a delight. In receiving this recognition, I would like to acknowledge some important people who have been part of my life and work. My family - my husband, son, mother, sister, brother and their families are here with me today. Family has always been an important part of my life, and Victoria University has been an important part of our family history. And so, it is a double honour to receive this degree from this university. I would also like to acknowledge the colleagues in ministry who are here today and have been part of the presentation. Dr. Lois Wilson, Dr. Roger and Moira Hutchison, Professor Michael Bourgeois - those who had something to do with my name coming forward I am humbled by your acknowledgement. But finally, I would like to mention the people I have had the privilege of working with, in the church and in the community, particularly those whose life stories have been challenging, riveting, and painful. They, above all, have given me focus and drive to persevere in naming those injustices that need to be addressed and working in community with those vulnerable and determined people who daily survive the poverty and abuse that still continue for many in our country. On their behalf I accept this doctorate, and may their stories and their cause for justice find new avenues for redress as we work together.
page 2 I have had, for the last many years a unique opportunity in ministry to work both within and on the edges of the institutional church. My congregational ministry work has been augmented by that of community outreach work with people who face poverty, discrimination and marginalization. As well, I have further expanded that work by serving as a municipal councilor for the last 13 years. My training for politics was church based. Having started my political career as a student president here at Victoria and having survived the institutional church for twenty years, I felt I was well qualified for whatever the secular world would have in store. It is from that perspective of being within and on the edge of the church that I want to address you today. Conventional wisdom has it that faith and politics do not belong together. I ve been challenged about that sometimes as I have walked in both worlds. For some, it is a deeply rooted opinion that those in positions of faith leadership should not be involved in politics, and vice versa, that politicians shouldn t be religious leaders. And those occupations are worlds apart in opinion polls. About the time I was first elected there was a poll done on public trust of professionals. Clergy rated high - that was 15 years ago - I don t know if they would still rate as well today. And at the bottom, with lawyers and used car salespersons were politicians. With a few thousand votes, I dropped from being a professional at the top of the trust list to the very bottom. That was my first lesson in the supposed disconnect between faith and politics. It has been a dual and not always comfortable position of having a foot in both worlds.
page 3 But let me be clear there is a distinction between faith and politics and between church and state. I believe in the separation of church and state. Church and state together means that the civic government is run by the church, OR, vice versa, as history has demonstrated on many occasions - the church is controlled by the government. I believe the church, to be the church, must be separate from the state: not allied with it, not obligated to it, not intimidated by it. All faiths must be in an independent position to speak freely, to act as a voice of conscience, to be a prophetic voice of challenge. All faiths must have the ability and freedom to take on the critical role of speaking truth to power. But the separation of church from state should not be confused with the bringing together of faith and politics. In fact, I would propose that we can t separate faith and politics - can t do it today and have never been able to do it in the past. And further, I would suggest that we have a gospel imperative to live our faith in the public arena which makes the living of that faith political. We are a political people - small p. Whether we admit it or not, we use politics all day - at home, at work, in our relationships with co-workers, bosses, neighbours and loved ones, when we negotiate or hold out expectations of one another. We use politics in our relationship with God. Our faith stories are narratives about political relationships with God: signing covenants, making deals, negotiating terms with God. We are a political people and we carry our politics into every aspect of our living. And let us remember this: we have always been a political church. We have taken on the world around us and challenged and changed history according to our belief system.
page 4 The Christian church as institution in Canada has always had a very political side to it - to say nothing of the politics that goes on within the institution itself! It is true that not always has that political activity met the standards of justice and integrity that we would apply today. The less palatable aspect of a past which includes efforts to subdue and assimilate the aboriginal community is a tragic and painful legacy, that we must also own. But, perhaps a more positive part of that connection between faith and politics was the emergence of the Social Gospel a little more than a century ago. It grew out of a new awareness of the justice focus of Christ s ministry. So much of who we are today as a nation can trace its roots to the influence of the Social Gospel. And our church leadership has carried on that tradition. I well remember a past United Church moderator who told the story of a church in which the people spoke openly about their Christian faith as a choice between being Christians and going to heaven or being Christians and going to jail. The United Church has a long and faithful history of being part of the movement from save this person to save this society. Can we do any less today than affirm our roots in the social Gospel that believes that the worship of God requires, not burnt offerings, but justice for the people and that our success would be measured by our ability to care for the most vulnerable among us? But is it enough? Is the Social Gospel something that is best left in the past? Or do we need to ask ourselves the question as to whether we are again being called as Christians to rebuild a country and economy that embraces the notion of community and common good, not an individualistic future with each working for their own survival and gain?
page 5 And if we believe that, as people of faith, our faith should inform our politics, how do we do that in a multi cultural, multi religious world where there is diversity of religions and an insistent demand for respect for those of no faith? In other words, the real question is not whether religious faith should influence a society and its politics but how it should influence them. Do we still believe God s kingdom on earth is possible or have we set our sights a lot lower? Have we as Christians given up hope that we will see in our lifetime those things we dream of and are called to work for? or, become defeatist because we don t seem to have the influence that we once did? When Dorothy Day, that great Christian outreach worker and advocate for the homeless in New York City, died in the 1990 s, the tribute paid to her was this: she took the impossible and made it possible and then she made it probable. Another of my favourite United Church moderators, Clarke MacDonald, said, I am an unabashed evangelical and a social justice advocate. He also said God doesn t call us to be successful, God calls us to be faithful. To be faithful, I believe, means to live our faith in the public arena whether we are successful or not. Jim Wallis, in his book, God s Politics, makes the statement that God is personal but never private. That God is personal, he says, most Christians understand. It affirms our belief that God is not distant or uncaring. God desires a deeply personal relationship with each and every one of us. But to leave it there is to deny the rest of God s relationship with us. To add the words, but not private, opens the door to God s concern for neighbour, for relationship, for human interaction, for community.
page 6 To decide that God is not private is to envision a God who is already out in the world inviting us to go there too and to look at and respond to those places where we see violation and exploitation and misery. As a municipal councillor, I discovered remarkable numbers of people prepared to speak and act for justice in the community. Many did not use the label Christian or even religious. I wonder sometimes if we Christians have gone underground or run out of energy or turned inward to private faith instead of public witness? But if we are to take seriously the suggestion that God is personal but NOT private, we need to become more visible again. When our Interfaith coalition was hearing stories of concern from the community, one of the women who presented to us said this - please tell the churches, the faith communities not to abandon us now - we need your voice more than ever. Finally, I want to offer this comment to those who are graduating today: I don t believe the Christian church today is defeated unless it believes it is. The needs of the community are as great as they ever were. The growing gap between the haves and have nots is continuing to expand. The environment is ever more fragile. There is much work to do. The call to discipleship is as great as it ever was. Yes, we need to be more open, more creative, perhaps more strategic. We can t count on the privileges of the past and that is perhaps a good thing. Let us remind ourselves that we cannot become insular and protectionist, but need to live our faith out in the community where we are called to be.
page 7 And my advice? Walk through the doors that open. Let the Spirit lead you on a journey that you can t possible imagine or control. It s an adventure that is challenging, exhilarating, and one that calls us to stand with others not in defeatist resignation, but defiant resistance. May it be said of us, also, that we stepped into the public arena, and took the impossible and with God s help made it possible. Thank you again for this honour and blessings on the work of those who graduate today.