St Francis and LegCo

Yesterday October 4 was the feast day for St Francis of Assisi. OK what does this have to day with the politics of St Helena?

I admit to great affection for St Francis. In fact when I was in my early twenties I thought for a time that I had a vocation to be a poor brother of Francis and I even made contact with a monastery in New Zealand where I was going to test my vocation.  I never did and in fact I ended up losing whatever faith I had.  However I still find St Francis a source of inspiration.

I do find him a very powerful role model for leadership.  It is his humility his commitment to peace and to the poor that I find challenges me to always try to be there for others.  Clearly most of the time I fail, as we all do, but his calling to serve others is one that I often reflect on.

Of course Christians and Catholics in particular  would be right to point out that Francis was a religious and that belief in God was as natural to him as breathing.  He preached and lived out a life based on the commandment to love.  It occurred to me today that this is the fundamental difference of a life of service through politics and a life of service through religion (or at least the Christian religion as I understand it).

Our 'bible' is the Constitution.  Constitutions are concerned with rights and freedoms and ways of organising the political system, and are designed to enable people to live together in an ordered way.  

This is taken from the preamble:

wishing to continue as communities of tolerance, with respect for government and 
the law, Christian and family values and protection of the environment;

committed to government in partnership with the United Kingdom on the basis of 
mutual obligations and responsibilities, to democratic principles and to promotion 
and protection of fundamental human rights and freedoms;

Powerful stuff.

I guess what a constitution does not do is tell you how an individual should behave.  That is a matter of conscience and though not being a person of faith I do find myself turning to those who have faith to be my guide.  

I expect I am a naive in my view that in some odd way politics is a form of a calling, a vocation.  Not a divine call but a call to serve, not just by those who voted for you, but in a broader sense by the community that you represent.  I need time to work this one out or it could sound really sanctimonious but I think it is worth reflecting on this.  

At the very least it must be better than seeing politics as all about power and prestige.  Francis gave up his power and his position and in doing so his life is still an inspiration, even for reluctant atheists such as myself.