Soulmate and Mentor

As we walk through life and manage to accumulate so many ideas and thoughts about where we fit into the grand scheme of things, we sometimes meet a person who by association aids in our search for the ultimate answer; we tend to find our comfort zone while in their company. One such person was Dr. J.W.E. Newbery. Maybe it was coincidence, but this United Church minister also married my wife's parents early in his ministry in Sudbury.

Years later when I decided to return to University full time, the first person I met when I went to register was Rev. Newbery. He was welcoming the students to the young university and although he was the principal of Huntington College he was right there in the mix of students, boxes and books. A shock of white hair and a smile a mile wide put you at ease and when he heard I was majoring in Philosophy and Religious Studies he gave me some special attention.

He was the head of the Philosophy Dept and Religious Studies and immediately made me feel at home when he said there was a $300 bursary that was available if I applied. That got my attention as I was married with a family and needed every penny. I hadn't set up a home at this point but he helped and after we had tea with his family I left with a list of good places to live, $300 bursary and a box of required reading for the philosophy courses.

From the very beginning Dr. Newbery and I became bonded. There was something special about this man's demeanour when he talked about religion. I connected when he told me he was working on a new curriculum involving spirituality derived from aboriginal peoples' beliefs. I had just returned from Northern Ontario where I shared two summers with Cree Indians and I was keenly into their culture. Our class was 10 people and we were able to share feelings and personal beliefs with the Dr. However we did much listening as this man espoused a type of new philosophy with a balanced mixture of bible, great works, native cultures of the world, and Christianity, with universal currency.

The four years I studied under Dr. Newbery were life changing. They brought the best of me to the forefront and convinced me to stay with education and forget about working for the church as my type of spirituality would make it be too confining. Dr, Newbery challenged me by giving me assignments to preach at various churches in Ontario who required a minister for special occasions or special subjects. I loved the work and the pay was good but I finally realized I was not speaking from conviction and refused further work. It was at this time I began to have a free and open discussion with Dr. Newbery about what I had accepted as my guide to life and the acceptance of the natural order of things as a reasonable alternative to organized church with all the rules, myths and dogma. I basically found peace and Dr. Newbery openly said that he had a similar experience and still  found comfort in the organized church and I might find that to be true later in life.

Dr. Newbery lived to be 96 and when he passed away a great scholar was lost to the academic fellowship of the university. His legacy was building bridges between faith communities. He developed native studies programs for universities and was awarded citations for his work with native communities within the penal system. A life long member of Amnesty International and human rights commissions earned him the Order Of Canada. For work in recognition of Native Spirituality he was awarded the standing of Honorary Elder a gift he treasured.

Dr. Newbery was close to the David Suzuki Foundation and supported it until his death. He wrote a short poem which I suppose summarises his beliefs.

O God around me,
Your spirit is the great wind
and the quiet breath of every creature.
Everything is alive in You
and towards You all things are moving.
                                                                                                               
E. Newbery