Rabbi Justin David’s Tribute to Rev. Ives
March 30th, 2010From the Daily Hampshire Gazette, Monday, March 29, 2010
Rabbi Justin David, of Congregation B’nai Israel, lives in Northampton.
NORTHAMPTON – We shouldn’t even try to sum up the work of someone like the Rev. Peter B. Ives, who leaves his 21-year ministry at the First Churches this June.
But if we were to make the attempt, we would do well to invoke the Israelite Prophet Micah, who instructed, “do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with your God. (Micah 6:8).”
Peter’s reputation as a principled advocate for social justice, as a man dedicated to his community and as a mensch (a thoughtful, kind, whole person) is universal. It is a significant measure of Peter’s stature that even those who claim no religious affiliation respond with warmth and admiration upon hearing his name.
His work in our community reminds us of the importance of a rare form of contemplative leadership. All too often, we expect leaders to be blustery, pushy individuals who take no prisoners. Peter is the antithesis of such a notion, and all the more effective as a result. His bearing is one of quiet and gentle self-assurance, his confidence flowing from a commitment to principle. To know Peter and to see him in action is to behold a true pastor, someone who relates to all people with abiding kindness, consideration and professionalism.
Such a person fosters trust, which makes so many things possible. Demonstrating such quiet strength over the course of a career is not easy in the rough and tumble world of community leadership. To live with such equanimity requires being attuned to the workings of the mind and heart. In this way, Peter serves as a model for a demanding spiritual practice.
For Peter, the work of social justice and the work of the spiritual life are one and the same. One can imagine how such a seamless fusion was facilitated by the times in which Peter came of age as a person and a minister. Peter has written and spoken movingly of watching Dr. Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream Speech” on television and sobbing uncontrollably.
When Peter began his training at the Union Theological Seminary, his world bore the imprints of Paul Tillich and Reinhold Niebuhr, titans of 20th century theology whose writings combined social activism and philosophical rigor.
He was inspired by figures who circulated through the seminary at the time, such as the Rev. William Sloane Coffin, and from across the street at the Jewish Theological Seminary, Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel. Their stances against racism, war, poverty and spiritual complacency continue to reverberate.
Peter assimilated these examples, fostering inclusive Christian communities in decades that saw the rise of second wave feminism, the maturation of the gay rights movement and the emergence of America as a multicultural tableau.
Peter’s ability to keep the First Churches a vital institution in Northampton is a special accomplishment. These past two decades have not been hospitable to American religion in general, and to liberal Protestant denominations, in particular.
Most liberal Christian movements and churches have experienced declining numbers. Add to these global factors the particular environment of Northampton, in which “religion” tends to be regarded with extreme skepticism, if not antipathy.
But Peter has been able to guide First Churches toward occupying a place of esteem in our community. He has done so by pursuing two tracks simultaneously. To be sure, he has engaged the First Churches in the public square by making it a refuge for the homeless and a forum to explore the social and ethical problems of the day.
Peter has been a friend to me personally, but more importantly, he has been a steadfast friend to the Jewish community, as he has to every community of faith. It’s hard to envision what retirement will mean for someone like Peter Ives, whose vocation and avocation go hand in hand.
From the Daily Hampshire Gazette, Monday, March 29, 2010
While he will no longer have to return phone calls, go to meetings and attend to dramas great and small that are part of life in community, I don’t believe he will stop living the life of a pastor.
I imagine Peter taking quiet moments (hopefully many) to read his favorite books, pursue his intellectual and spiritual passions and work on projects to help those in need.
But I also trust he will have more time to take runs along the Mill River, spend more time with his wife Jenny and precious time with his children and grandchildren. At last, they will have the great blessing of his undivided ministry. It is our task to take up his unfinished work.