Heart, Integrity, Respect, and Team at the Olympics

Sunday morning was a great day for Canadian Athletes as the Olympic Games came to a close. As I went about getting ready for my day, I found myself strangely transfixed by the Marathon. Then, as the screen split into two and CBC began broadcasting the closing press conference of the Canadian Olympic Committee (COC), I found the words of the President of the COC, Tricia Smith, almost as engaging. Smith has been a strong spokesperson for sport in Canada and her words from Rio were effusive and inspiring. She had praise for the many podium appearances of Canadian athletes and noted how successful Team Canada had been; but her praise was not just for those who won medals. Her speech made note of the many athletes who had shown great determination and integrity. She highlighted athletes such as Evan Dunfee, the Racewalker who came in tenth in the 20 km Walk and fourth in the 50 km Walk. Dunfee showed great respect for his fellow-athletes as, in one case, he encouraged the French Racewalker who struggled to complete the race. Then, in an act of sportsmanship, Dunfee did not challenge the 50 km Walk results after the Japanese athlete, Hirooki Arai, bumped Dunfee.  Officials considered disqualifying the Japanese Bronze Medalist. Later, Dunfee and Arai happily posed for a photo together.

Meanwhile, Eric Gillis, in a race dominated by Kenyan and Ethiopian Athletes, came in tenth in the grueling Olympic Marathon. Top ten showings in international competitions are one measurement of an athlete’s success and are rightly considered a mark of excellence. This was an amazing success for a Canadian marathoner, and coupled with an American Bronze medal in this sport, bodes well for western marathoners in a sport that has largely been about the competition between African athletes.

As the Marathon reached the 42 km mark, Tricia Smith also spoke of the values that have led to a successful Olympics for the Canadian team. She spelled it out in four points that would make a preacher proud.

Heart – as a synonym for determination, Canadian Olympic athletes show great “heart” in both training for, and competing in, the games.

Integrity – Evan Dunfee spoke of his team-mates and other international race-walkers with whom he trains who choose to compete clean in a sport that is sometimes marred by doping. He challenges the entire Olympic community with his commitment to integrity.

Respect – Canadian athletes made us proud with their respect for world-class athletes from around the world. They cheered for each other and cheered for the best qualities of athletes from other countries. They behaved themselves in Rio and made us all proud.

Team – Smith also gave a strong affirmation to teamwork as she noted the strength that is apparent as one person rises to the challenge when another is having an off day. She emphasised that sport is about being a team in every sense of the word.

Both the athletic competitions and Smith’s words give Canadians a sense of pride as we seek to be a country where great results and great humility are celebrated. Smith continues to show her commitment to the ideals of sport which she addressed on the day she was chosen as the President of the Canadian Olympic Committee. Her words on that day are a bookend to her words on August 21, 2016.

“I feel enormously privileged and grateful that our sport community has entrusted me today with the leadership of the COC. It’s an honour I accept with pride and gratitude at a time when the eyes of the country are upon us. Based on my platform, this endorsement sends a clear message that our members embrace the values of sport and expect integrity. I will be a champion for creating a safe and inclusive environment for our employees and all those involved in the Olympic Movement in this country. I will be a tireless advocate for unity, inclusiveness and collaboration with our many partners. We now enter an Olympic year with great excitement and anticipation. We must be at our best. We will do everything in our power to ensure we create an optimal environment for Rio 2016, so our athletes and coaches can be the very best they can be.” – Tricia Smith, President of the Canadian Olympic Committee (November 22, 2015)

International Hockey, 1972 and 2014

I was 12 years old in September of 1972. I remember the 28th day of the month, Junior High School for me, but no school work was done that day. Canada had won three games in the international hockey Summit Series against the USSR, a union of soviet socialist states anchored by the republic of Russia. The soviets had won three games and one game had been tied. The winner of this game took the 8 game series. This happened at the height of the Cold War. The USSR was viewed as a serious threat to Canada's way of life; and the USSR and the USA had sufficient nuclear weapons to obliterate the earth many times over. So, a great deal of patriotic pride was riding on this game. The school, with a total population of about 250 students had 4 televisions. I remember being in a room with about 50 students and teachers huddled around one of these TVs. The series ended, as most Canadians know, with a goal scored by Paul Henderson in the last minute of the game (34 seconds remaining) to end a 5-5 tie. It was, and continues to be, a great moment of Canadian pride.

Since then, Canada has enjoyed much success on the international hockey stage and the way we watch these competitions has changed dramatically. On Friday, when Canada took on the USA in the Olympic semi-final match, I watched it with one other person at the laptop in my office. In other parts of the building people were watching it by themselves on computers or smart-phones. Work production definitely took a dip during that game but it was different than the 1972 series. Now, technology allows us to attempt to do some work while we watch the game. Now, we are much more apt to watch a game alone or with just a few people. We have so many more devices on which we can watch the game. We still have televisions but we also have phones, tablet computers, laptops, desktops, digital PVR, and internet television systems.

Tomorrow the Canadian men will play for the gold medal against Sweden. The game starts at 7:00 am EST, 5:00 am MST, and 4:00 am PST, and people will be awake in each of these time zones watching the game. Some will gather in public places like bars, restaurants, and coffee shops. (The province of Alberta has created a special allowance for bars to open and serve alcoholic beverages at 5:00 am.) Others will gather with family or friends in their homes. The mood will be one of anticipation, much like the mood on September 28, 1972, the outcome is unknown, but the technology will unquestionably be different.

People Turn to Religion

John Stackhouse says that "People turn to religion only if they have a good reason. The instrumental reasons are gone with the wind."1 That is, people no longer believe that they must go to church to increase their social standing or to impress their business constituents. He points out that in one particular panel discussion he and other participants

noted how low church attendance is in the one place in Canada most focused on the here and now, on sensual pleasure and self-fulfillment – Vancouver. No wonder church plants come and go here with dismaying rapidity.
Yet it’s also interesting that the churches that thrive here are full of people between 18 and 35. The older demographic (35–60) is much less in evidence. Those older ones are the people who have somehow been able to succeed in Vancouver’s punishing real estate market and construct a lifestyle they like. They don’t go to church. Why should they?
But the younger adults – those the economy is not welcoming, who carry debts they fear they can never pay off, and who are searching for a meaningful life in a world that seems indifferent to their aspirations – they’re in church. Are we church leaders properly addressing their needs? Or just anesthetizing these hungry searchers with an hour or so of lively music, group solidarity and undemanding sermonizing?2

Has he hit upon something novel here? Is there a significant economic unrest among 18 to 35 year olds? Do some long for a meaningful life? What are the needs that older leaders might address? Which ones have we missed? I am certainly interested in creating missional communities of Christ that will generate life-giving space for hungry searchers. Life-giving space must address the economic unrest of our time: the "haves" and the "have-nots" and the increasing gulf between the rich and the poor. It will also include space for serving the least, the lost, and the lonely of the predominant culture. It cannot simply address the self-interest of those who find it hard to pay off the debts they carry. The Gospel in every culture and every time is good news to the poor, the captives, the blind, the oppressed, and all people.

 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
    for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released,
    that the blind will see,
that the oppressed will be set free,
and that the time of the Lord’s favor has come.
Luke 4:18, 19, NLT.

1. Faith Today, January/February 2014, "Will Canada Be The Next Sweden?" John G. Stackhouse Jr., http://digital.faithtoday.ca/faithtoday/20140102#pg76
2. Ibid.