‘My religion is what sustains me’
This week, the former U.S. president was hospitalized for dehydration in Winnipeg while touring Western Canada for Habitat for Humanity. Juris Graney spoke with him while he was in Edmonton.
Q On Monday, you got a little emotional when talking about the impact of Habitat for Humanity. Why does it mean so much to you?
A We see lives change for families who are discouraged or felt like they didn’t have any future, and when Habitat makes them a promise that a house is going to be built and they are going to work on it, it changes the families’ attitude towards life.
Q Why is a home such a transformative thing for families?
A Having a decent place to live is a basic human right, just like living in peace or having freedom of speech or freedom of assembly or freedom of religion. I think a more basic right is to live in a decent place and have a chance to raise a family with a sense of pride, a sense of having done your duty. When you move into your own house, it just transforms a person’s attitude towards life.
Q You are a deeply religious man. Talk to me about your Christian faith and why it is important to you?
A It’s the centre of my life and it’s the most important thing in my life by far. It’s been a haven and a reassurance for me when I get in trouble. I turn to God for guidance when I need answers to a difficult question or a challenge and when I have serious sorrows. My religion is what sustains me.
Q Do you still do your Sunday school?
A I teach Sunday school every Sunday that I’m home in Plains (Georgia). We have an eager group of worshippers who sometimes are curious about a politician teaching the Bible and it keeps the town going. For awhile, I decided I’d only teach twice a month, and the restaurant didn’t have customers on a Sunday morning and the local inn was not filled, so all the folks in Plains brought me a petition to make sure I’d teach every Sunday.
Q America’s going through a very tumultuous time right now. What do you tell your congregation? What’s your message to your fellow Americans?
A My favourite teacher in high school said, “We must accommodate changing times, but cling to principles that never change.” I think we are going through some troubled times right now, but we have to make the best of them. When I have this question on Sunday mornings, I tell people to pray for the United States of America and pray for President (Donald) Trump, as well. We wish him well. We don’t like some of his idiosyncrasies, but I think like all human beings he is doing the best he can.