Page 10 - Presbyterian Connection Newspaper

10
meet the Rev.
presbyterian
fall 2017
presbyterian.ca
Connection
InTeRvIeW
dr. dorcas Gordon
By Ian Ross-McDonald, General Secretary, Life and Mission Agency
After eighteen years as the first fe- male head of a Canadian Presbyterian seminary, the Rev. Dr. Dorcas Gordon has concluded her ministry at Knox as one of the longest serving principals of the College. She also served as the first Canadian female president of the Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada (2012– 14) and the fifth Canadian since its beginnings in 1918. During her sab- batical in the year ahead, Dorcas will lecture at seminaries in, among other places, Taiwan and Cuba.
Dorcas and I sat down to talk about ministry, theological education, lead- ership, and some of the issues before the church as part of a series of con- versations with leaders in the church that will appear in future editions.
Dorcas’ restless curiosity and en- ergy is immediately evident as she engages in a wide range of topics. In conversation, with a rare depth of knowledge and candour, she adeptly weaves together biblical interpreta- tion, the practice of preaching, inter- national politics, feminism, pastoral concerns, human rights and sexuality, commenting along the way on the cul- tural assumptions that lie beyond the scriptures and contemporary interpre- tations, the organization and content of various confessions of faith, de- nominational differences, principles of leadership and personal struggles.
Acknowledging the challenges of leadership, Dorcas points to the value of collecting and invoking formative
stories that function almost as man- tras which encourage and steady leaders in the difficult times or mo- ments when leaders encounter new or perplexing circumstances. Reflecting on “Visionary Leadership” (one of the three core features of the denomina- tion’s strategic plan), Dorcas propos- es that leaders should be bifocal: “One eye has to be on the immediate tasks and responsibilities while the other eye focuses on the distant horizon and is open to the mystery that belongs to God.” It is the need to develop a sixth sense about how to read and act in a complex context.
Mystery is a word that Dorcas re- turns to often; she speaks of that mo- ment of mystery when a student gains insight in the classroom, that mystery when a sermon crystalizes and is experienced as a word from God, or that instant when an idea takes shape. Dorcas names an appreciation of mystery as an important gift for lead- ership and the practice of ministry in the church today. Other gifts include a sense of humour, not taking one- self too seriously, curiosity of mind, insight into self and context, a strong work ethic and an ability to reflect on one’s life experience as well as the re- alities of the world in which the church lives out its mission.
Dorcas received a Masters of Theo- logical Studies in pastoral counselling and a Doctor of Theology in New Testa- ment studies. But she chose history and political science as majors while study- ing for a Bachelor of Arts, one discipline primarily interpreting what has hap- pened and the other focusing on what is happening. “Understanding what
happened in the past and understand- ing what is happening now are key,” she says. And she has been putting the past in conversation with the present ever since. She does it as a student and teacher of the Bible in order to under- stand what the scriptures have to say to our current complex situations, and she does it when she engages in theological reflection and teaching.
Dorcas values the experiences she has had visiting and working with seminaries in other parts of the world and interacting with the global church. These oppor tunities have helped her gain insight into how others address similar circumstances we are facing in the PCC. Amid the church’s anxi- ety about decline, Dorcas points to the healthy benefits that would come from looking beyond our immediate con- cerns and situations to encounter and understand what others are doing. “Dialogue yields insight,” she says.
Understanding one’s own assump- tions and those of one’s immediate context have been one of the central features of Dorcas’ understanding of
education. “Education is not about changing minds but about exposing students to a larger picture, helping them get beyond their comfort zone to grapple with ideas, the complexity of the Bible and the context that formed it and our times and assumptions.”
Dorcas becomes animated as she talks about the impor tance of congre- gations as gatherings within a larger community as ways the church could find new life. “It’s important to re- member that the congregation exists for the good of the community, those beyond the four walls of the church as well as within them.” Quoting Jer- emiah 29, Dorcas says, “But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the LORD on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.” It is a reminder that congregations do not exist solely for their own sake but that an important par t of the health of congregations and the renewal of the church will be in seeking and suppor ting the renewal of the world in which the church exists and which God loves.
“Preaching the word is central; it is one of the most important things we do. The Bible is the one thing we can contribute to the world that has the potential to give us and it a new and fresh perspective.” Dorcas believes that the goal of preaching is to set up a conversation between the Bible and the listeners’ own ex- perience and context into which the Holy Spirit speaks, providing the possibility of fresh ways of thinking and living out the gospel. “There is an important role for the preacher to challenge listeners with the fresh-
ness of the biblical message.”
As for the future of Knox, Dorcas expresses great optimism. The lead- ership of a new principal and the ap- pointment of two dynamic and well experienced faculty members will open new oppor tunities for theologi- cal education and inspire future minis- ters and scholars to move in exciting directions in reflecting theologically on today’s world and in providing op- portunity for learning in an expanded variety of contexts. More personally, Dorcas is looking forward to a year of renewed reading and research in her beloved field of New Testament studies, something she can now do not having the responsibilities of the principal’s office. Among other things, she is thinking about how the church can untangle its colonial understand- ing, interpretations and practices. As well, the region and forces at work in Israel/Palestine are passions she shares with her husband, the Rev. Noel Gordon, who first spent over a year in Israel/Palestine in the 1960s. Together they will be spending a month doing research at a Christian institution situated between Jerusa- lem and Bethlehem, not far from the
Separation Wall.
This next stage of her ministry,
somewhat outside the centre of the institutional church, returns Dorcas to a place that feels familiar; it was from here that she carried out much of her earlier ministry. From this van- tage point, where church and society meet and significant dialogue is possi- ble, here Dorcas is looking forward to finding exciting oppor tunities and new insight for ministry.
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