A Presidential Farewell
President Gerald Ford, 38th President of the United States, passed into paradise on 26 December 2006, at the age of 93. That is hardly news; not a person with newspaper, radio, television or internet access could have missed that.
I was hardly old enough to be politically aware when Ford took office--in fact, 9 August 1974, the day he took the oath of office, was my 13th birthday. My family was on a camping holiday in the Canadian Maritimes. I will never forget the announcement (as I heard it) of President Nixon's resignation. We were at a campground just outside St John's New Brunswick, listening to the early evening news on CBC Radio, in our Chevy Sport van that had been 'modified' (stripped down) for use as a camping vehicle for a family of 2 adults, three kids, and a large dog. The headlines were repeated: 'Richard M. Nixon, 37th President of the United States, has resigned his office. Repeating our top story: There's been another arson fire in St John's.'
Although I understood some of the problems the country was experiencing at the time, I did not grasp all the legal and political intricacies of the Watergate scandal--and I probably got caught up in the general disdain for Ford's decision to pardon Nixon.
But several decades on, and with a little distance (and I hope, growth in charity), I understand that although Ford's pardon wasn't popular, it was right, and it was gracious. And although Gerald Ford made few overt references to his personal religious beliefs, it was, I think, a deeply faithful, faith-guided decision. Healing only comes with pardon. It's unfortunate that Nixon didn't grasp the other side of that coin, and that full pardon and healing only come with acknowledgement of the need for repentance.
Several presidents since have made much more public fuss about their religious beliefs, their certainty that they know what God wants of them, and of the American people. I'm always cautious about such certainty--especially when it is a confirmation of what that particular person would want to do anyway. Confusing the divine will with the human is always a dangerous thing, especially when it is done apart from the consultation of other wise minds whose reading of the signs of the times may differ.
From my flat in Oxford, I watched the Presidential funeral proceedings in Washington. What struck me most was that, for an Episcopalian who had given so many decades of his life in public service, a funeral from the National Cathedral was entirely fitting. And, unlike the Reagan funeral a few years ago, Ford's was most definitely a religious service in his own tradition. It was unashamedly a service from the 1979 Book of Common Prayer, with the liturgical traditions of Cranmer and the English Reformation.
It was a much more personal service than that of Ronald Reagan: Yes, like the earlier funeral, notable people from politics and media gave eulogies. But Ford's funeral featured an actual Christian homily from his own pastor, who gave a glimpse into the spiritual life of the accidental president.
I'm sure there are people who are saying that the state funeral of an American President should not be religious--but I believe they are wrong. The First Amendment forbids an establishment of religion by the government; it does not forbid those in government service to hold, and express, and live and die by, deeply held religious commitments. Indeed, the First Amendment's protection of free speech stems from its protection of religious belief and practice.
At what time is it more fitting to make those beliefs and practices known than at the transition from this life into the next?
I was hardly old enough to be politically aware when Ford took office--in fact, 9 August 1974, the day he took the oath of office, was my 13th birthday. My family was on a camping holiday in the Canadian Maritimes. I will never forget the announcement (as I heard it) of President Nixon's resignation. We were at a campground just outside St John's New Brunswick, listening to the early evening news on CBC Radio, in our Chevy Sport van that had been 'modified' (stripped down) for use as a camping vehicle for a family of 2 adults, three kids, and a large dog. The headlines were repeated: 'Richard M. Nixon, 37th President of the United States, has resigned his office. Repeating our top story: There's been another arson fire in St John's.'
Although I understood some of the problems the country was experiencing at the time, I did not grasp all the legal and political intricacies of the Watergate scandal--and I probably got caught up in the general disdain for Ford's decision to pardon Nixon.
But several decades on, and with a little distance (and I hope, growth in charity), I understand that although Ford's pardon wasn't popular, it was right, and it was gracious. And although Gerald Ford made few overt references to his personal religious beliefs, it was, I think, a deeply faithful, faith-guided decision. Healing only comes with pardon. It's unfortunate that Nixon didn't grasp the other side of that coin, and that full pardon and healing only come with acknowledgement of the need for repentance.
Several presidents since have made much more public fuss about their religious beliefs, their certainty that they know what God wants of them, and of the American people. I'm always cautious about such certainty--especially when it is a confirmation of what that particular person would want to do anyway. Confusing the divine will with the human is always a dangerous thing, especially when it is done apart from the consultation of other wise minds whose reading of the signs of the times may differ.
From my flat in Oxford, I watched the Presidential funeral proceedings in Washington. What struck me most was that, for an Episcopalian who had given so many decades of his life in public service, a funeral from the National Cathedral was entirely fitting. And, unlike the Reagan funeral a few years ago, Ford's was most definitely a religious service in his own tradition. It was unashamedly a service from the 1979 Book of Common Prayer, with the liturgical traditions of Cranmer and the English Reformation.
It was a much more personal service than that of Ronald Reagan: Yes, like the earlier funeral, notable people from politics and media gave eulogies. But Ford's funeral featured an actual Christian homily from his own pastor, who gave a glimpse into the spiritual life of the accidental president.
I'm sure there are people who are saying that the state funeral of an American President should not be religious--but I believe they are wrong. The First Amendment forbids an establishment of religion by the government; it does not forbid those in government service to hold, and express, and live and die by, deeply held religious commitments. Indeed, the First Amendment's protection of free speech stems from its protection of religious belief and practice.
At what time is it more fitting to make those beliefs and practices known than at the transition from this life into the next?
posted by Wendy Dackson at 2:48 AM
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