"God made me for a purpose, but he also made me fast and when I run, I feel his pleasure."
The Churches and the Olympics
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D Cornick, Theology, 2012, 115 (4): 266-272
“This article describes the churches’ response to the challenge of the London Olympics and Paralympics. It notes the work of denominations and the ecumenical response through More Than Gold. It suggests that the experience points to new developments in ecumenism and highlights the lack of a theology of sport. It suggests that the Church will be deeply engaged in enabling participation In the Games, and in raising questions about their legacy”.
It gives an excellent review of major event Christian ministry over the years. A weakness of the paper is that it is written in anticipation of what is planned for the 2012 Olympics – now a bit dated.
I was interested when I first saw the article in its reference to “the lack of a theology of sport”. What was the writer’s evidence, I wondered? This, according to the article, is the evidence: “There is, as Stewart Weir of Verite Sports Ministry points out, as yet no systematic theology of sport”. Right, that settles it then!
The article ends with a challenge: “The churches, for their part, arc stretching nerves, sinews and finances to ensure he greatest possible participation in the Games as a once-in-a-lifetimc experience. It remains to be seen how Gladwin’s questions* about the legacy will be answered”.
*Would the children and young people of Newham, many of whom fall below the poverty line, be engaged in the Games? Would the Games have ‘a ring of steel’ around them, or would there be real opportunities of engagement through volunteering and employment ‘to draw a whole generation into the excitement of this experience?
John Gladwin, then the Bishop of Chelmsford in 2009.