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Introduction:
Rights and Worship
Derek Poole
Comment:
Religious Rights in Vietnam
Joanne Miosz
Comment2:
Drumcree
Mervyn Gibson
From
the Director
David Porter
Human
Rights - A Critical Appropriation
Julian Rivers
Human
Rights - Why Churches need to be involved
Brice Dickson
Parting
Thoughts on Life and Leaving
Tucker Ball
A
Bill of Rights for Northern Ireland
David Stevens
Does
God always forgive his children?
Alan Wilson
Faith
and Practice - Ruth Lavery
Ruth Hutchinson
The
Concept of Rights
Joan Lockwood O'Donovan
FAITH
AND PRACTICE - An Interview with Ruth Lavery
Ruth Lavery, a member of the Equality Commission
and a part-time chair of the Independent Appeals Tribunals, is the subject
of the second interview in the faith and practice series.
Ruth always enjoyed academic work, finding in it a sense of achievement and self-endorsement. She studied law at Queen’s and Oxford, and qualified as a barrister. She then took up a lectureship at Queen’s where she taught and researched until the end of last year. Her reasons for studying law are rooted in her upbringing. I studied law partly because I thought it would be an intellectual challenge. I also thought an understanding of law would give an insight into the nature of power and authority in society. The law sets the parameters of what it is possible for one person to do to another, and I have always been fascinated by the way people like to control one another. In particular I grew up aware of the way women in a rural society often had very little say in decision making, often working hard on farms at the expense of their own aspirations, and without recognition in terms of gaining property rights. In particular I was aware that women often shouldered caring responsibilities for children and older relatives, without much tangible recognition of the value of their work. I thought that knowledge of the law would give me an understanding of the responsibility of the state to provide care. The vulnerability of carers and cared for and the role of law in family life has been a focus throughout my working life. Vision and Values
We wondered if Ruth felt a sense of vocation, perhaps in the struggle of individuals against powerful and impersonal systems. Did she believe that issues of injustice are not understood by society? How would she describe her vision and the values that undergird it? Concern about injustice takes many forms. My own preoccupation has been with the need to protect and empower people who are vulnerable to abuse and exploitation, and with equitable treatment of carers. I would like to see greater emphasis on carers having a right to support and a say in the limit of their responsibility. I don’t think that the most vulnerable people in society are really of central importance to the political agenda. Part of the value of equality and human rights provisions is that they provide legal mechanisms with the potential to help to counter this. I accept, however, that the law is very limited as a means of ensuring justice in the home and family. I firmly believe that God cares about each individual and that each person is equally important, regardless of what they have or what they do. I look at the law as it applies to children and to vulnerable adults in light of this principle. The image that I held to when teaching child law was of Christ’s displeasure with the disciples when they kept children from him. We need to be vigilant that children’s real needs are not sidelined and that they are a central policy concern. For instance, discussion of childcare often centres on meeting a parent’s need to work, rather than on the child’s need for care. Faith
Next we asked Ruth to speak of her personal faith and how it has impacted on her working life. I can’t remember a time when I was not concerned with spiritual issues. In particular, how to relate to God and what happened after death concerned me even as a child. I was fortunate to have a Christian upbringing with parents who never directly preached or tried to enforce belief, but who were very positive role models. I have also, however, been aware that faith cannot be inherited, and that I must decide for myself whether to follow Christ or not. This is a commitment that I have had to reaffirm as I have gone through life, particularly when the implications of living as a Christian were demanding. I hesitate to spell out how my faith has influenced my working life. It is very easy to claim Christian attitudes and values without really living them out. I have no doubt that I would have been very committed to my work and to some vision of social justice even if I was not a Christian. The key difference it has made is in my understanding of the importance of what I do. I have learnt that my value does not lie in what I do but simply in being loved by God and by other people. This is liberating and allows me to enjoy work, rather than seeking self-endorsement from it. I also believe that the value of a task lies in how it is done, not what it is, so that I don’t really divide my life into work and non-work. Much of my work as an academic, and now as a Commissioner and chairperson, is done in private. No one really knows how full my preparation for work is. No one is really going to check every footnote. But I know that God sees everything I do. In an increasingly ‘results orientated’ society this awareness is a check to taking short cuts and to concentrating on only doing well what other people see. Without this I am quite sure small dishonesties would have crept in and I would be looking for the approval of other people more than I do. More generally, a faith in meaningful life after death gives a perspective on the relative importance of both problems and achievements. I hope that my faith has given me a willingness to serve others when working. It is a real struggle to remember that work is not primarily about self-advancement or achievement or earning money but about service. I think that increasingly Christians will find that such values are at odds with the attitude to work in society. Defining Moments
We asked Ruth to speak about any defining moments that caused her to re-evaluate her life’s commitments and priorities. I think that I have tried to work out my priorities and commitments irrespective of particular pressure to do so. I think it is important to have a belief in the value of what you are spending time and effort on, and to know why you are doing so. One defining event was the birth of my daughter. It didn’t change what I thought was important, but it meant that work had to fit in with caring for her. This was a privilege, not a problem. I went from working full-time to part -time and gave up many of the outside connections which I valued, for instance with the Western Health and Social Services Board and with Age Concern (NI). Ultimately, I suppose it led to my leaving academic life and finding a way of working which is more family-friendly. It also made me more passionate about the welfare of children, and aware of how much children are at the mercy of their parents’ choices. Role Models
We asked Ruth about people who had influenced her. Perhaps there have been role models in the wider community. I would find it hard to treat someone as role model unless I really knew them. Like most women my main model is how my mother lived her life. In the work context, I have valued the example of other women lawyers, some Christian, some not, who have worked with professionalism and concern for others. At the time I studied law and began to lecture, women were very much in the minority in the legal world. I admire other women who paved the way for the rather more balanced representation we have today. I also found strong role models in Windsor Church where I grew up. There were gifted people there who took time, despite lots of other commitments, to take an interest in me and address seriously some of the obstacles to Christian faith. I saw people who, as well as being successful in their own careers, willingly made time for church life. This encouraged me to believe that if you follow God’s will it is possible to have a balanced life contributing to the world of work, to family and other relationships. It was also an important antidote to the kind of Christianity I sometimes saw which concentrated on making a profession of faith, with little emphasis on the need for moral change. I saw that kindness and integrity are central to a Christian life. The Future
All my natural inclinations are to plan ahead and to work towards specific goals. I can honestly say that, at the moment, I have no definite sense of direction. While once this would have worried me, I am learning to live in the present and, hopefully, to be able to trust my future to God. This is easy to say, but I think that Christians must always have an open mind about the direction of their life and work. ECONI wants to thank Ruth Lavery for her willing participation in the interview. We wish her success as she continues to make a difference in peoples’ lives. Ruth Hutchinson
Assistant Editor
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