Faith and the volunteer spirit
Sharon McCue
I grew up in the kind of family that always went to church on Sunday, rain or shine, winter or summer. My parents believed it was the right thing to do, and in the 1950s so did Canadian society generally.
Sharon McCue
Many things have changed since then, and Sunday churchgoing is one of them.
In those days, being part of a church community was an indicator of faith. And faith was a good thing, as long as it was not talked about too much. Talking about faith in an open way outside of church would have been considered decidedly odd in the small town of my childhood.
My dictionary calls faith "a system of beliefs," so in that sense, the folks in my hometown got it right, in that by attending church they were subscribing to a faith.
This faith was so much a part of me that in first-year university I continued to go to church, because I couldn't imagine what else you did on Sunday morning.
Faith separate from religion
All that broke down for me when I told my parents I was dating someone who was Ojibwa. My father, who had grown up in northern Ontario without any positive contact with First Nations, put his foot down and said that this would not continue.
My 20-year-old self asked, "Well, what is this going to church every Sunday all about then? Didn't our Sunday-school books show Jesus surrounded by children of all races?" That I would dare to connect my relationship with my faith (and my father's) seemed scandalous.
The result was that when I married the young man less than a year afterward, I didn't attend church regularly for more than 10 years.
My church attendance since then has varied, but I can say that it seldom has much to do with what I now consider to be my faith. My faith is something almost totally unrelated to organized religion.
Helping others
Over the holiday season, I agreed to co-ordinate the volunteers and the packing for the Christmas hamper project in our community. I did that because of my faith.
My dictionary gives a second definition of faith as "firm belief, esp. without logical proof," and that is the faith we are now talking about. It is my belief that members of a community who have been blessed should help those who are less fortunate.
I do not think that is the ticket to a better place after we die. I do not think that makes us better people.
I simply believe that it is the right thing to do. That is my belief — my faith.
Sharon McCue grew up in the Ottawa Valley. She has worked as a teaching assistant at Trent University, a cooking teacher and caterer, a school librarian in James Bay, and as a policy analyst specializing in Aboriginal justice issues for several government departments. Currently, she lives in Ottawa and spends her time writing and being a doting grandmother.
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"By reading the descriptions of different religions, it appears the intent of 'religion' is to better ourselves, give answers and, most importantly, find peace within. If that really is the case, then can believing in a god do us any harm?" — Chris, Saskatchewan
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