Political prophet challenges churches on swan song tour
Gerald
Vandezande is calling it quits. But
can a prophet really retire?
By
Debra Fieguth
ChristianWeek staff
 AIDEN SCHLICHTING-ENNS PHOTO Canadian Christians are often known "for what they oppose and expose," says Gerald Vandezande. "I think we have to become better and more publicly known for the Good News." |
Gerald Vandezande
is marking his official retirement this month by
concluding a cross-country tour. No, he’s
not meandering along the highways and back roads
in his RV, stopping at tourist attractions. The
outspoken public affairs director of Citizens for
Public Justice is busy challenging the
churches–one more time–to act justly
and love mercy. "It’s so important that we’re seen to be different," he told a Winnipeg audience, "not for the sake of being different, but because a different Spirit lives in our hearts and lives." Winnipeg was one stop on a 16-city tour from Halifax to Victoria. |
Canadian Christians are often known "for what they oppose and expose," he said. "I think we have to become better and more publicly known for the Good News." If that happens, then "no one can escape the liberating Spirit that God poured out at Pentecost and continues to pour out."
Vandezande, whose retirement coincides with CPJ’s 35th anniversary, has toiled many years in the sociopolitical arena, challenging governments and churches to stand up for equality and justice for all Canadians. His stance has not always been popular, but he has managed to bridge political chasms by building relationships with politicians of all stripes.
Vandezande believes if the Christian church in Canada is truly to have an impact, its people need to be seen as a unified group. "When it comes to child poverty, discrimination against faith minorities, or gay and lesbian people, we need to say the laws of the land need to be just and all people need to be able to live in peace."
Uncomfortable
Conservative Christians can be uncomfortable with Vandezande’s insistence on equal rights for same-sex relationships. His rationale is a position that steers clear of moral judgment but calls for an arrangement that allows for a range of "domestic partnerships."
"If we are to participate in the political process," he figures, "we have to advocate justice for all–not just us."
But, continues the Dutch-born prophet from Toronto, that doesn’t mean everyone needs to assume the burden of the whole world. Individual Christians must use their own gifts to become lights in the social, political and economic realms.
Vandezande stops a moment to reflect on who his own heroes and role models are. He names Anglican Archbishop Desmond Tutu and President Nelson Mandela, both of whom have had a reconciling influence on South Africa. On this continent, his choices include Martin Luther King, Jr., Catholic Bishop Remi de Roo of Victoria, and evangelist Billy Graham.
Graham’s public announcement some years ago that he could not condone the industry of nuclear arms cost his organization millions of dollars, says Vandezande. "Billy Graham felt it was his Christian obligation [to state] that the Good News does not tolerate that kind of industry."
And once a year Vandezande watches the movie Romero, about the assassination of a Catholic bishop in El Salvador, "to remind myself of how people stayed committed."
So is Gerry Vandezande really retiring? At 65 he admits he needs to slow down. But his friends in Ottawa shouldn’t be too surprised if he shows up now and then to offer counsel. Hospitals, prisons, universities and other institutions all have chaplains, he points out.
But, he hints, there are no chaplains on Parliament Hill.
