I was invited to a share a ‘theological reflection’ at an event entitled ‘Faith and Politics’ in which Shaun Loney, candidate for mayor of Winnipeg in the upcoming municipal election was speaking.

Mr Loney began the time a line from O Holy Night,
Long lay the world in sin and error pining,
‘Till he appeared and the soul felt its worth.
This led to his theme of putting the soul back into the city.
How? Loney explored various market based approaches to realities of crime, safety and poverty.
For every problem there appeared to be an economic solution that saved money and improved lives.

The following is an edited and slightly expanded version of what I shared,

I was asked to reflect on this theme of faith and politics through my lens so I wanted to take a moment to clarify my lens knowing that faith is not one thing in general. Being Mennonite, which comes out of the Anabaptist tradition, it is important for me to remember that my religious tradition began with the rejection of the very possibility of being a Christian, of being faithful and of being a political leader in the world.

I have come to accept that I must hold this impossibility but I must hold it alongside another impossibility that Mennonites encountered, the impossibility of escaping the world, which we tried in many times and places around the world. Believing we could escape the world too often resulted in our being used as pawns for various governments or of neglecting the struggles of our neighbours.

So, I come holding two impossibilities, perhaps not such an uncommon thing for people of faith.
In my mind though faith does not overcome these impossibilities but honours and even defends them.

For how can we be faithful when we cannot escape a system that demands endless consumption, growth and profit? How can we be faithful in a city where the investments of the wealthy are prioritized and we feel captive to the demands of police budgets, urban sprawl and corporate interests.

Mr Loney repeatedly said that there is something wrong with the system but when he described what this meant it really seemed to be matter of shifting priorities and approaches. Mr Loney fundamentally accepts the system but sees it as mismanaged or misguided. All the problems of the system are opportunities for change … within the system.

This difference cannot be overlooked. There is a critical wedge of understanding and orientation depending on how one understands the ‘system’ we live in. This wedge may not immediately change our day-to-day actions and decisions. From my very limited understanding many of the projects and priorities Mr Loney promotes seem important and valuable. However, I see them as part of the reality of ‘harm reduction’ in the midst of a system that simply does not care for us as opposed to ‘solutions’ to isolated problems.

Our system will actively and naturally consolidate power among the wealthy and in turn sell us a story in which we as individuals are supposed to be the answer and so most of us who care end up feeling exhausted, insufficient or event to blame. As individuals we too often feel like failures.
So while we are at the daily work of love and care in the midst of our personal lives we need also to hold to account those withholding what could benefit all people. Believing that country was founded on idolatry (what we might call violent injustice) the prophets of the northern kingdom of Israel said of every single king, that king caused the people to sin; their day to day lives were inevitably compromised by their environment.
There is a place for individuals to lay down their guilt and fatigue and then understand and express that a political leader of an unjust system will cause the people to sin.
In an unjust system justice can feel impossible.

To say something is impossible does not mean we despair or wait for utopia. We continue in the daily work of care and love. But that should not keep us for naming our present reality as a system that willfully consolidates power for the sake of profit and growth even in the face of preventable death and suffering. This is the system any political leader, whether of a country or of a city, will attempt to work within.

I see the value in many of the platforms and policies promised by this election’s candidates, perhaps Mr Loney’s most of all, but to acknowledge and denounce the system in which we live is hard enough for ministers to preach but for politicians seeking election to speak this way would surely be an act of faith.