Religious reason part of decision to lead party

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 30/07/2022 (1176 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

When Kevin Friesen was introduced as the new leader of Manitoba’s Keystone Party in mid-July, I wondered: What role might religion have played in his decision to enter politics?

It was his surname that triggered that thought; it sounded like a traditional Mennonite name. Did he go to a Mennonite church? Was that part of his story?

As it turns out, the answer is no. But that doesn’t mean Friesen, 47, isn’t church going. He has been a life-long attender and member of the Somerset, Man. Bible Chapel, part of the Associated Gospel Churches, an association of evangelical churches in Canada.

He grew up in that church, going to Sunday school and youth group. He has also served as an elder and done some occasional preaching.

After high school, he studied at Millar School of the Bible in Pambrun, Saskatchewan, graduating with a diploma in biblical studies.

As for why he decided to take a leadership role in the new party, there’s a religious reason for that, too.

“I had a spiritual sense of call,” he said. “That’s the only reason I am here.”

Until recently, going into politics was the furthest thing from his mind; he’s got enough to do operating a 5,000-acre grain farm in Manitou.

But the pandemic made him re-think how he could be of best service to people in the province.

In particular, he was impacted by friends who lost their businesses due to lockdowns.

As he pondered these things, “I was convicted in my heart to get involved,” he said. “I just knew I couldn’t sit and watch. I needed to practice my faith by loving my neighbours who were losing their businesses.”

For Friesen, that meant getting into politics to help people impacted by what he considered to be bad government decisions related to lockdowns.

He said he understood the need for mandatory lockdowns when the pandemic started. “It was an emergency,” he said. “But they didn’t have to continue for such a long time with businesses not allowed to be open.”

He also was concerned about the effect of the lockdowns on places of worship.

The closures, he said, “didn’t take into consideration spiritual, emotional and mental health needs of members.”

It was especially hard on youth who were cut off from supports like youth group gatherings, he said, adding he knows of two families who lost children to suicide during the pandemic.

His own church followed public health orders and closed, going online. “I wasn’t a big fan of that,” he said, adding he believes Christians should meet in person.

“The province shouldn’t be able to overrule what God has told us to do as Christians, to gather,” he added.

“The needs of churches weren’t respected. The Premier, or the chief medical officer, are not more important than God, who told us to meet.”

As for vaccine mandates, Friesen feels that should be a personal decision.

“I consider it a violation of privacy to require people to say if they are vaccinated or not,” he said, “I don’t think anyone needs to know if I am vaccinated or not.”

When asked what he would say to Christians who believe loving neighbours means wearing masks, getting vaccinated and following lockdown orders, including for churches, Friesen acknowledged it was a good question.

“Although I believe very strongly that we should be very courteous of our neighbors, brothers and sisters, and that I would wear a mask if I knew it would protect someone, so much of what is going on right now is mask wearing out of fear, poor science, or frankly for show,” he said. “I have a hard time seeing how this helps us.”

For him, “the saddest part of the whole issue is that something as simple as the mask has literally pitted brother against brother, friend against friend. The division was not caused by the mask, it was caused by a mandate. I believe in giving Manitobans good, accurate information and letting each one decide for themselves. This would include businesses deciding for themselves, not pitting business owner versus customer.”

Stating he is not pro-mask or anti-mask, what Friesen wants most for Manitoba “is to end the division. I am anti-mandate when it is not needed.”

As for his vision as leader of the Party, “I need to be humble, be a servant of the members, not a tyrant,” he said, adding “that is something missing in politics for a long time.”

Politicians, he said, need to “serve people, like the Bible says, they need to have a servant attitude.”

For Friesen, the best example of that kind of servant leadership was Jesus. “The best example there ever was,” he said.

“If I could be half the servant Jesus was, I would probably be the best political leader there ever was,” he said, adding “Jesus is my role model.”

In Canada, it isn’t usual for reporters to ask politicians about their religious leanings. This is very different from the U.S., where their religion is a major focus of media attention.

That’s a good thing, in the main. It can help us avoid some of the polarization that takes place down south.

But sometimes religion is an important part of the story, as with Friesen and his involvement with the Keystone Party. And then the question needs to be asked.

faith@freepress.mb.ca

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