Conference Brings Gospel Message into Public Arena

(this article reviews the conference I attended over MLK weekend. It was a wonderful time of meeting new folks, hearing GREAT speakers, and being challenged to have integrity with my political views and my spiritual faith.)


By Pauline HoveyCatholic Herald 1-19-2006

"Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness, they shall have their fill" (Mt 5:6).

At one time or another we all struggle with where and how God is calling us to serve and whether we are truly living the Gospel. For me the call is strongest now when I am in my midlife years, when I no longer tend to very young children who require infinite attention, and a disciplined prayer life causes me to question how a true follower of Christ would respond to the ever-increasing unmet needs of the least of my brothers and sisters.

Recognizing that we live in the wealthiest country in the world and that we now have the potential and technology to eliminate poverty in our time, I grow increasingly uncomfortable as I realize that I am one to whom much has been given and therefore from whom much is expected. This struggle is what called me to attend the recent conference "Politics and Spirituality: Seeking a Public Integrity," held Jan. 14-16 on Capitol Hill. Offering three dynamic, contemporary Christian speakers — Father Richard Rohr, O.F.M., a well-known spiritual writer and retreat leader who founded the Center for Action and Contemplation in Albuquerque, N.M.; Jim Wallis, an evangelical and political activist for justice and peace who founded Sojourners magazine; and Anne Lamott, a humorous literary writer and columnist who converted to Christianity — the conference promised to be a lively and enlightening exploration of the vital connection between spirituality and politics. And seeing as I was hungry for practical and imaginative ways that I could be the body of Christ in the political arena while representing allof God’s children, this seemed like the perfect venue to help me discern the next step on my spiritual journey.

What I found when I arrived on Saturday afternoon to a noisy, filled ballroom at the Capitol Hyatt Regency, was that many Americans hunger and thirst for justice. Indeed, the conference was so popular that its 1,300 seats sold out within weeks, causing organizers to scramble to include another few hundred participants through a simulcast, for a total of about 1,700 people in attendance. What was even more amazing was that people had traveled from across the country and Canada, not only giving up their holiday weekend, but finding the financial resources to travel to and stay in our nation’s capital. They came from Florida, Vermont, Texas, Colorado, Wisconsin, California, Pennsylvania, New York, Ohio, Tennessee, New Hampshire and Iowa, to name just some of the many states represented. Most were Christians; many came with a church group or like-minded friends, but some traveled alone in search of personal answers.

From the powerful opening prayer service displaying large icons of inspiring, faith-filled persons who desired truth and justice, and were willing to die for their beliefs (people such as Dorothy Day, Martin Luther King, Jr., Mohandas Ghandi, St. Isidore de Seville, Bishop Oscar Romero, the four American churchwomen who were martyred in El Salvador in 1980, Simone Weil, Cesar Chavez, and, of course, Jesus), to Monday’s energizing procession to the Capitol for public witness and prayer, the two-day event brought hope that there are in fact many people of faith who truly desire to live by Jesus’ example.

The truth of Father Rohr’s message struck me right from the first session, "Contemplation to Action," that it is not possible to separate politics and spirituality — the outer and inner authority. A Franciscan of the New Mexico province, Father Rohr considers the proclamation of the Gospel to be his primary call, and he has used many different platforms to communicate that message, this conference organized to help people integrate their Christian faith with their politics being only one of them.

Referring to Exodus chapter 3, Father Rohr recalled how God, in the form of the burning bush, calls Moses because he has "witnessed the affliction of my people in Egypt and have heard their cry … ." As Father Rohr pointed out, God desired to free the enslaved Israelites and therefore had to send someone to accomplish this. That person is Moses, who, although he feels unworthy, winds up following God’s call. Through Moses, God integrated spirituality and politics to accomplish his will.

Today countless people are enslaved by poverty, across the globe as well as in our country, and God is calling us to help. "Poverty is the new slavery," said Jim Wallis, who has traveled across the country promoting his recent book God's Politics: Why the Right Gets It Wrong and the Left Doesn't Get It and listening to people of faith who want to change the direction of public policy. As he explained in the second session, Action to Contemplation, "The two great hungers today are spiritual integrity and social justice." He views this as what he calls a "kairos moment," a time when things are "opening up" for change. "The country," he said, "is hungry for a politics of solution and hope." It appeared from the reaction of the participants that the hunger is growing.

But rather than seek to align ourselves with a particular political party or label, Wallis suggested, "Don’t go left; don’t go right. Go deeper." His words expressed the concern that today the religious right and the liberal left are drowning out the message of Christ with their own agenda, which is sometimes presented in a glib or arrogant manner. In the process, they are turning good people away from politics and nothing good gets accomplished.
Father Rohr agreed. "The best criticism of the bad is the practice of the better," he said, noting that when we have a need to be contentious, it causes division. "Oppositional energy only creates more of the same," Father Rohr explained. And indeed part of this conference’s agenda was to offer an alternative, " … a positive and public example of religion and politics working together in a mutually enlightening way."

To help us accomplish this, Father Rohr encouraged his listeners to become a "transformed people," something that must occur before we can transform others. Transformation occurs when we let go of our ego so that we can experience "true wisdom" and allow "the Trinitarian life" to flow through us, he said. Once we are transformed, we can attempt to discern our true vocation, which, as Father Rohr explained, always involves the needs of others. "Where your gift meets the suffering of the world, that’s your vocation," he said.

Additional sessions included Anne Lamott’s reflection of faith called "On the Journey"; Father Rohr and Wallis discussing "Integrating Politics and Spirituality"; and a speakers panel whereby all three presenters took questions from the moderator, Washington Post columnist and political commentator Eugene "E.J." Dionne, Jr., and from the audience. There were also opportunities for contemplative prayer in the mornings before the sessions began, and a very powerful ecumenical Communion service known as the Thomas Mass on Sunday morning. It was a tangible and credible example of what the Holy Spirit can do when allowed to flow through us.

When together we sang "They Will Know We Are Christians by Our Love," my heart overflowed with the possibilities. I wondered, what if all our actions as Christians led others to Jesus because they were performed with love rather than with moral judgment, arrogant certitude or required duty? What if we were truly recognized by our genuine love for one another? How much good could be accomplished then?

As Father Rohr said, "The Gospel teaching opens the space around you. It doesn’t humiliate. It teaches the process of love, of forgiveness." His words are among many "words of wisdom" that I have carried home from this Spirit-filled conference. But the words that will enter the center of my prayer as I discern my true vocation as the body of Christ are those of Jim Wallis, who stated so succinctly: "Hope is our job as people of faith."