Todd Wiebe discussing Christian nationalism with Katherine Stewart.
I just left the hospice here in North Vancouver. I was there to visit a woman from one of the churches at which I help out. Joan just turned 90 and she is a lovely woman, full of life. Her faith is quiet, but strong, and though she is not weak, she thinks of others before herself – consistently.
A few weeks ago, Joan fell and broke her hip. Until then she had not had major health difficulties. After her surgery, she took a turn. She looked very different. For the first time, in my knowing her, she looked old.
She spoke with me about how she did not have a desire to do the intense physiotherapy required to get better. She told me that she was asking God to let her go. It was a quick turn, but there was joy and beauty in it.
She said that her life had been blessed. She had shared most of her life with a wonderful husband who died nine years ago. She seemed to want to know from family and doctors, and even from me, that it was okay to be okay with dying. She is 90, remember.
I cannot convey the joy that was evident in her when she came to feel, as an act of faith, that she could let go. She was not talking about taking any active measures, but she would not fight to stay alive.
That was less than a week ago. She was told then that she may have a few weeks to live, but now just five days later she clearly is moving into the valley of the shadow of death. The way in which she is doing this is humbling, faithful and, very evidently, a gift to her.
From another aspect of my work – the non-profit I help to run hosted an event last night. Katherine Stewart, who is a leading investigative journalist on Christian nationalism, came from the United States to do an in person event with us.
It went well. The themes she speaks of are cultural, religious and political. They can be heard, by some, as provocative. She points out how distortions of Christian faith are key factors in the decline of democracy in the United States and around the world.
She has been on CNN and MSNBC and has written in the New York Times, The Atlantic, etc. etc. In Canada, she has been on CTV and CBC for major reports and features. She agreed to do an event with us as she sees value in how our work in seeks to articulate hopeful, not fearful, Christian faith.
The event took place on the same night as the Canadian federal election and the church in which we were meeting was also a polling station. Of course there were different rooms, different entrances, but the connections were compelling. We were there to hear about American democracy and the impact of what is happening in the United States on Canada.
At the same time, only a few kilometres away, Joan had just been moved from the main hospital to the nearby hospice. She was speaking less than she had been. She was moving further into the valley. Her daughter told me today, though, that her mom kept asking about the election. As the returns came in, Joan wanted to be updated. She is 90 years old and facing death very soon, but she has an eye on the future.
Everything is connected. Everything is connected and God is good.
The two scenes – the talk of faith and culture with the journalist and the presence of Joan in hospice – come together. Their connection includes a desire for hopeful, non-divisive faith that is guided by love, not by fear.
These things are real and consequential. Joan is dying, that’s true. Democracy is in danger around the world right now, that’s true.
May we hear and issue calls for a faith that embraces all people, refuses to operate by lines of division and seeks to see the beauty and grace of God in others, in everyone.
After the event last night, as people mingled in the foyer, a woman thanked me for my place in bringing the event together and in introducing its theological themes. Her words to me were humbling and inspiring. They connected with the truth I feel, that most of us long for a hopeful, positive faith. I felt so inspired in my work by what she said that I wrote the words down.
Todd Wiebe
She said, “You give us the permission to be true to ourselves.”
Everything is connected. Everything is connected and God is good.
Todd Wiebe is Director of the Reflector Project, a non-profit organization focused on hopeful theological renewal. He is Teaching Pastor at Cap Church in North Vancouver, co-host of the podcast Rector’s Cupboard and writes a substack newsletter called, Evangelically Departed.
He has posted this comment on this site as a member of The Bell: Diverse Christian Voices in Vancouver. Go here to see earlier comments in the series.