There is “something old” and “something new” in the latest move to let faith and politics interface in and around Parliament Hill.
The “something old” is the century-old four-storey red brick mansion at 252 Metcalfe Street, heretofore known as the Laurentian Club.
The “something new” is that the historic building, which began life as a lumber baron’s home, has been acquired by B.C.-based Trinity Western University.
When the university starts using the Laurentian, it will be just one more example of one Ottawa’s best kept secrets: That faith, or religion, particularly of the Christian variety, is talked about and even practiced by many people who live and breath Hill politics.
TWU’s Ottawa acquisition is the result of a long time dream of the 3,000-student school’s graduate studies dean, Donald Page.
Prior to moving to Trinity 12 years ago, Dr. Page was a senior policy advisor in foreign affairs, maintaining regular contact with politicians such as Mitchell Sharp and Joe Clark. And, in his spare time, he spearheaded the development of the Public Service Christian Fellowship, spawning dozens of Bible study groups in a myriad of federal agencies around the capital.
Trinity Western was founded by the Evangelical Free Church in 1962. A smaller and newer Catholic affiliate, Redeemer Pacific College, operates adjacent to the TWU campus in Langley, 20 miles east of Vancouver.
TWU gained some national recognition this spring, when the Supreme Court of Canada ordered the BC College of Teachers to approve its teacher education program. The BCCT had appealed lower court rulings in the university’s favor. The teachers college, the accrediting body for BC’s public school system, had claimed Trinity’s call for students to refrain from extramarital sexual activity, might cause them to discriminate against gay young people they would eventually teach.
The high court, in effect, affirmed that the teachers’ college could not discriminate on the basis of religious belief. And it pointed out that there are tribunals to handle any discrimination against gays that might grow out of religious behavior.
As for Trinity Western’s plans for Ottawa, Dr. Page notes that the Metcalfe Street acquisition opens the way for “students — and other people from the west — to better appreciate what is going on in Ottawa.”
Clues to what Dr. Page might have in mind can be drawn from the main emphasis of his work out west. He is a recognized influence on the concept of “servant leadership”, which accents the idea that the right to lead is predicated, in part, on the demonstrated willingness to serve.
He suggests that resources for TWU Ottawa programs will undoubtedly rely on many MPs and ex-MPs, including those known for trying to integrate faith and politics.
Religion on the Hill
And that, indeed, faith-politics integration is the basis for much Hill religious activity. Some happens on the pastoral level, where MPs, senators, diplomats and public servants are coached in making faith a part of how they live, do politics and handle relationships.
The National Prayer Breakfast and its sponsor, the weekly Parliamentary Prayer Breakfast is one such example. And so is Christian Embassy, a ministry of Campus Crusade for Christ. On the Catholic side is Father Steve Amesse, pastor of Holy Spirit Parish in Stittsville who was an aide to Liberal MP Brenda Chamberlain before entering the priesthood.
The national and parliamentary prayer breakfasts are run by interested MPs and senators, with coaching in recent years from Sandra Boussiere, a Catholic and widow of Bill Boussiere, long time prayer breakfast mentor, United Church minister Jim Lee and former NDP MP and Baptist minister Laverne Lewycky. The chair rotates among parties. The last four are Liberal John McKay, Tory Elsie Wayne(both Baptists), Alliance’s Paul Forseth and Liberal Paul Steckle (both Mennonites).
The breakfasts are loosely affiliated with similar national, state and provincial groups in 160 countries. The best known is the Presidential Prayer Breakfast in Washington, whose crowd of 3,000 usually includes several dozen Canadians.
The recent speaker choices for the Ottawa breakfast, that draws over 500 people, seem to focus on extolling faith and prayer as an antidote to violence. The last three were Lieutenant-general (ret) Romeo Dallaire, whose experience as a peacekeeper during the Rwanda genocide deeply traumatized him; Dale Lang, the Anglican cleric whose son, Jason, was gunned down in a Taber, Alberta, high school; and Kim Phuc, who, as young girl, was napalmed in Vietnam war action.
The weekly breakfasts, at the insistence of the movement’s leaders are both cross-party and low-profile. They ask that media types not identify involved politicians unless they themselves wish it to be known. Three present and former cabinet ministers don’t mind their cover being blown: John Manley, David Kilgour and Jake Epp — all veteran speakers at provincial and civic prayer breakfasts.
The cross-party approach is significant to the modus operandi. Leaders say it is important for politicians of who sit across from each other in the house to be able to pray and discuss the faith together. Kilgour maintains, in fact, that those who do, treat each other better in the bear pit.
The Christian Embassy’s “coach” is Gerry Sherman. He encourages single party study groups, maintaining that sometimes politicians feel less vulnerable in their own political setting.
Sherman also arranges overseas jaunts, which MPs pay out of their own pockets, to expose them to faith-political practices in other countries. And for diplomats from countries where a different religion is dominant, CE introduces elements of Canadian-made Christian faith.
Father Amesse felt the need to develop a Catholic chaplaincy, either informally or in a more organized setup, as a result of his own work as an MPs aide. While he values the transdenominational fellowships, he believes that Catholic politicians can benefit from some of the church’s structure when they are away from their own parish. Masses on the Hill and the linking of MPs to spiritual directors are among the services he would like to facilitate.
He points out that none less than Pierre Trudeau found a spiritual director to be a very desire element in his life. Many Canadians learned, to their surprise, when he died, that Trudeau had a deep religious commitment — and that his director and other Catholic disciplines helped him to cultivate it.
In addition to those wanting to provide pastoral care, there are the groups whose offices surround the Hill, who bring their religious perspective to bear on public policy issues. They are mainly concerned about shaping politicians’ views on faith-related issues.
There are at least 20 such groups, including the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada and the Centre for Cultural Renewal. The former two, which, between them represent about 15 million Canadians, regularly brief parliamentary committees. Most recently, they weighed in on the subject of the moral implications of new reproductive technologies.
The Centre for Cultural Renewal, headed by Catholic lawyer Iain Benson, brought American journalist Marvin Olasky to the Hill for a public lecture in late June. American President George W. Bush is currently relying on Dr. Olasky’s Compassionate Conservatism for direction regarding his controversial faith-based social initiatives. Former Quebec education minister and journalist Claude Ryan, provided a Canadian response at the lecture.
The Parliamentary Pro-life Caucus straddles the fence between pastoral and public influence. It maintains contacts with about 70 MPs who claim to be pro-life. At present, all parties but the NDP, which has an official pro-choice policy, are represented. The three co-chairs are Liberal, Alliance and Tory. Last year, Jason Kenney of the Alliance, Tom Wappel of the Liberals and Tory Elsie Wayne gave the chairmanship a Catholic-Catholic-Baptist makeup. Now it is all Protestant, with Baptist Maurice Vellacott of the Alliance replacing Kenney, Mennonite Paul Steckle taking over from Wappel and Wayne remaining in place.
Pro-life volunteers from outside the Commons provide coffee and sandwiches for the PPLC meetings. And it is alleged they have sometimes given the MPs the benefit of their views — but only when asked, of course.
Made available by permission of the Hill Times.