Community & Alumni Blog
A rare visit with Archbishop Desmond Tutu
When the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu get together, they greet each other by tickling one another. Paul Peters settled for a handshake.
Peters, a program manager with Canadian Mennonite University’s Outtatown Discipleship School, met with Tutu in his Cape Town office this past January.
“I love his passion for justice and I think he’s a great example,” Peters says of the 83-year-old social rights activist and retired Anglican bishop, whose efforts in resolving and ending apartheid earned him the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984.
“His perspective on what the church should be—and his emphasis on loving kindness and compassion—is very inspiring.”
Peters arranged the meeting so he could thank Tutu for his contribution to Outtatown.
Since 2012, Tutu has met with Outtatown’s South Africa group each year for a half-hour visit. He has shared his vision for South Africa with the groups, and encouraged them as young people to make a difference and create a better world.
These visits have been arranged thanks to the parent of a former Outtatown student, who was born in South Africa and is friends with Tutu.
Meetings with Tutu are increasingly rare, as the archbishop began a phased retirement from public life in 2010.
Peters admits his motivations for the one-on-one meeting were somewhat selfish. His site visits to the South Africa program have never coincided with their meetings with Tutu, so he wanted a chance to meet with someone he considers a hero.
Tutu welcomed Peters warmly when he walked into the archbishop’s office.
“He’s this tiny, cute old man and he greeted us with a big smile,” Peters says.
Tutu began the meeting with a prayer. He then asked Peters about the Outtatown program.
He continued the meeting by sharing his dream for complete reconciliation within South Africa, and how even though the country has come a long way, there are still steps to take toward justice.
Tutu then asked Peters about himself. Peters shared his passion for Outtatown, and thanked Tutu for the times he’s met with Outtatown students.
Tutu’s visits have always had a powerful impact on Outtatown students, Peters told him.
“He didn’t like being praised,” Peters says, adding he was struck by Tutu’s humility and warmth.
“To me, that was just huge to watch, and pretty neat—being a 27-year-old punk from Canada and sitting with a Nobel laureate, and not feeling out of place or anything.”
At the end of their meeting, Peters presented Tutu with a CMU mug, two issues of The Blazer, and a recent Outtatown newsletter.
“He was very grateful,” Peters says. “We took some pictures together, and that was that.”
Four months after the visit, Peters is still inspired by his meeting with Tutu.
“He’s an optimist and a dreamer. Keep dreaming—that’s his message. Allow yourself to dream a better world. That resonates with me, because I’m a bit of a wild dreamer myself.”
Peters says spending one-on-one time with Tutu reminded him that whether you’re a Nobel laureate or not, everyone is capable of living out the gospel.
“We can all do amazing things if we remember to act in kindness and compassion.”
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