The new president of the University of B.C. is open about being a Christian, an Anglican to be precise.
Church for Vancouver, a website headed by Flyn Ritchie, discovered some archived articles in which Santa Ono says he believes it’s positive to be upfront about one’s religion.
I was wondering as much after reading a Vancouver Sun article in which he says he sees himself fulfilling a role of “servant leadership.” It’s a term heard often in Christian circles.
One several-year-old article, in The University of Cincinnati’s UC Magazine, was headlined Getting to know Ono. Ritchie found towards the end of the article the writer addressed Ono’s Christianity:
When it comes to influences on his own life, nothing seems to impact President Ono quite like his faith. He and his family worship at the Episcopal Church of the Redeemer in Hyde Park, where Ono also serves as a eucharistic minister, a layperson licensed by the bishop to give communion.
For those who are not up on ecclesiastical names, the “Anglican” denomination is called the “Episcopalian” church in the United States.
This means, in effect, that two of the last four presidents of UBC have been Anglican, since Stephen Toope was also active in the denomination. His dad was an Anglican priest.
I don’t happen to know if Arvind Gupta or Martha Piper have a religious affiliation.
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The Church for Vancouver website captured some more earlier quotes by Ono about his spiritual life and how to handle it in a public university. The UC Magazine article said:
While Ono has embraced his role as a high-profile Christian leader on the various campuses that highlight his resume – even serving on InterVarsity’s national board – he recognizes and respects the fact that the University of Cincinnati is a multi-faith institution.
“I believe in all faiths,” he says. “I don’t want to use my position in any way to be evangelical on a secular campus. I think that being involved in a Muslim group, a Jewish group, a Catholic group or a Protestant group on campus can play a very important role in the development and stability of students.”
At the same time, he’ll never be what he calls a “stealth Christian,” an academic who hides his faith out of concern for what others on campus might think.
Church for Vancouver, in addition, found this quote from Ono on an InterVarsity Alumni site:
“I actually think it’s very healthy for the university community to know of the religious beliefs of faculty and administrators,” he said. “I see no reason why I as a Christian should hide Christ in my life, as long as I show respect for those with different faiths. . . .
“Students learn from diverse perspectives across the university community and they can only learn from the richness of a multi-faith community if they can actually see people thinking about, struggling with and practicing their faiths.”
dtodd@postmedia.com
Follow @DouglasToddFor what it’s worth, Toope, like Ono, also described himself as a “servant leader” in an interview I did with him at the end of his five-year term at UBC. Here’s an excerpt:
But Toope seems to have avoided burn out. “I think having a sense of optimism and hope is highly helpful. I think for me that hope in large part comes from my own faith background,” he says.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.“Servant leadership” is characterized by humility, says former UBC president Stephen Toope.
Married to Paula Rosen, the father of three children readily acknowledges he has been active in leadership in the 70 million-member worldwide Anglican denomination, while attending Vancouver’s liberal Christ Church Cathedral.
Before touching on a second strength he has found in his Christianity, he pauses.
“I don’t want this to sound self-serving, so I’m even reluctant to say it. But it’s the notion of a great tradition of servant leadership. The centre point of that is humility,” he says.
“This has not been my university. This is the University of B.C., which is a resource to the province and, indeed, the country and the world. So I have a really strong sense this has been a trust relationship for a period of time — and that I’m passing on the trust.”
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
