Fr. Sunil Chandy began by saying he wants to use dialogue and compromise to make his own parish a quote “purple church.” Listen to the interview or read the transcript below.
FR. SUNIL CHANDY: We’re not just Republican: conservative, red, as it were, or just Democrat: blue or liberal, right? We’re a church that’s a combination, a combination that’s filled with people who are drawn by God, who have different perspectives, and yet who love to be in community together.
ALEX NUNES: What are the challenges of having that middle ground?
FR. SUNIL CHANDY: Well, okay, so we had a capital campaign at our congregation, right? And the question is we wanted to have air conditioning. So we did. Here’s the polarizing subject: It’s the idea of what type of system we wanted. And one thing that we talked about was having a geothermal system. People in our liberal part of our congregation say, “Well, that’s good for the environment. We’re not using fossil fuels to drive this system that we have.” But the conservative end of our congregation might say, “Oh, my God, why are we doing this? We want to look at what’s fiscally responsible.”
ALEX NUNES: How did that conversation go?
FR. SUNIL CHANDY: It was tough at the very beginning. Out of that conversation, what was born was a synthesis, because on the long haul, it is fiscally responsible; it’s going to actually be cheaper for us, rather than to use fossil fuels.
ALEX NUNES: Have you noticed changes in political discourse, or just the way people relate to each other in recent years, as compared to when you were younger?
FR. SUNIL CHANDY: Yes, of course. I mean, this is part of living in a world that’s filled with anxiety. And when we have that type of fear, people, again, move to generalizing and try to say, “Okay, well, how do I handle this? Well, I will handle this in the way that my group knows how to handle this.” And so there’s a natural movement away from each other in times of fear. But this is exactly the time where we should reach across. Because when we move away from each other, when we become alienated from each other, there’s no generation of ideas for a new or a better future.
ALEX NUNES: What would you say to people who think that just the viewpoints of different political groups within the United States right now are so different–can you really have a political discourse that leads you to a middle ground?
FR. SUNIL CHANDY: Look, I have teenagers. My youngest is a teenager, and he and I don’t see eye-to-eye on many things. And we have opposite ways of looking at the world, at times. But we also share a deep love of each other. That allows us to have conversation. And so I learn from my son, because God didn’t create us all to see the same thing. So, yes, it’s hard to have this type of conversation, but it’s necessary.
ALEX NUNES: Sometimes things happen in the news, something like there’s a mass shooting, or there’s a big Supreme Court decision, and people are really affected by it, and they look to maybe a spiritual leader who they know for guidance or their perspective. I’m curious, does that happen to you? And how do you handle it, if it does happen?
FR. SUNIL CHANDY: Yeah, it happens to me a lot. I mean, when the whole question about Roe versus Wade, that issue came up nationally, people were asking what my opinion was. When we’re talking about immigration laws, same thing. When we’re talking even about gun violence, right? We had a shooting here in Westerly. I try not to initially comment very quickly, because my initial reaction to any one thing is always kind of shortsighted. I need to think deeply about issues and how it affects people. If we don’t recognize people and their needs, and their hopes and dreams, then the law isn’t doing what it’s supposed to do.
ALEX NUNES: What qualities are you looking for in a political candidate?
FR. SUNIL CHANDY: For me, it’s about concern for the community, not just about the issue. You say, if they’re elected for a particular reason, and then all of a sudden they change their platform because they have to compromise, we don’t like that. But, you know, we live in a democracy in which compromising is necessary, especially if we want to find a way to all move together forward. Candidates that I really like are people who are idealistic, but just also grounded in realism. They understand that people are behind the issues and not just the issues.
ALEX NUNES: Father Sunil Chandy of Christ Episcopal Church in Westerly, thanks very much for speaking with me.
FR. SUNIL CHANDY: Oh, Alex, thank you. It’s a pleasure.
Alex Nunes can be reached at anunes@thepublicsradio.org
