The colour and pageantry of a Convocation Ceremony held on the concourse of Simon Fraser University is a glorious sight to behold. The Academic Procession led by the pipes and drums of the SFU Pipe Band descending from the upper levels of the plaza down the staircase into the main concourse, was a human ribbon of colour, primarily blue and red, the principal colours of SFU livery. The procession in total was many hundreds of metres in length and Bishop Michael the penultimate participant in the procession followed by SFU President, Andrew Petter.
The first section of the ceremony, the afternoon of June 14th, 2013, consisted of a welcome from the SFU President, to the graduands of the faculties of Health Sciences and Education and their guests, and the conferring of an Honorary Doctor of Laws degree upon the Bishop of the Anglican Diocese of New Westminster, the Right Reverend Michael Ingham.
The Honorary Degree Citation (click to download the Citation) was presented by SFU Baptist Pastor, Reverend Victor Thomas. The first sentence contained a very accurate description of our bishop’s leadership. “Mr. President, I present to you Bishop Michael Ingham, a true servant to many in Vancouver and around the world.” After Bishop Michael had received the Academic Hood and signed the register he gave the Convocation Address, it is as follows:
Mr. President, distinguished guests, faculty and graduands:
Thank you very much for this honour, which I deeply appreciate. It is unusual for a secular university to recognize the work of religious leaders. But Simon Fraser has done this before. Nine years ago you gave this honour to His Holiness the Dalai Lama and to Archbishop Desmond Tutu. You are a university which recognizes that religion can be a source for good, and that engaging the world should mean, among other things, supporting the forces of religious progress.When I became a bishop someone said to me: the role of a bishop is to sit firmly on the fence while keeping both ears to the ground. Well, I tried this for a while and found it very painful in a certain part of the anatomy. It’s a position from which you can’t really take a stand.
I follow a Master who crossed the religious boundaries of his day, and broke religious taboos, in order to stand beside suffering people, the lost, the marginalized, and the broken-hearted. This is the role of a leader.
We live in a time when religious fundamentalism is growing stronger in all faiths and traditions. It is a movement rooted in fear. The answer in my view is not to abandon religious faith but to join the side of religious progress. Religions must struggle for the equality of women. Religions must uphold the dignity of gay, lesbian, and transgendered people. Religions must work to safeguard the integrity of God’s creation. And religions must work together, not against each other, for justice and peace.
I have never believed in a God who was male, white, and elitist. I believe in a God who is engaged on the side of life, often with powerless people, in the struggle against the many faces of death. And that is my invitation to all of you today.
When you leave here, most of you will become leaders in the fields of education and health sciences. You will have glorious opportunities to work on the side of life: and by that I mean for human dignity, for social justice, respect for the earth and all its many forms of life. Be bold and courageous in your work. Be principled and ethical. Be compassionate. Take risks, and commit yourselves to the difficult triumph of hope.
There is a poem by Goethe that has always inspired me, and I leave it with you now:
There is one elementary truth
the ignorance of which kills countless ideas
and splendid plans:
that the moment you definitely commit yourself
then God moves too.
All sorts of things occur to help you
that would never otherwise have occurred.
A whole stream of events issues from the decision,
raising in your favour all manner
of unforeseen incidents and meetings
and material assistance
which no one could have dreamt
would come their way.
Whatever you can do,
or dream you can, begin it.
Boldness has genius, power and magic in it.
Begin it now.