President Carter masterfully orchestrated his final Sunday School lesson on a bright, sunny Thursday morning on the 9th of January, 2025 in the Washington Cathedral.
His students were not eager young boys and girls – they were future, current, and former leaders from all over the world. Some of whom desperately need a crash course in values, service, and moral courage after getting lost in the self-interested politics of our time that foster hatred, division, and fear. Of course President Carter was not there to deliver this lesson in person. His casket, shrouded with the American flag was a constant reminder that he is no longer physically with us, but his spirit was certainly alive and well in the messages delivered by a group of carefully selected friends and family. This fitting and emotional two-hour farewell might just have been his most important Sunday School lesson in his 40 years of teaching.
Credit: The Elders
Starting with a tribute from his political adversary, turned close friend, President Gerald Ford, eloquently delivered by his son, Steven Ford. He opened with: “According to a map, it’s a long way between Grand Rapids, Michigan and Plains, Georgia, but distances have a way of vanishing when measured in values rather than miles.” A perfect example of a deep friendship across political aisles that shaped both of their lives and the world for the better.
His grandson, Jason Carter, brought to life the famous Carter humour, getting the audience to share in the joy of remembering President Carter and Rosalynn as down-to-earth human beings, living in the same house for 77 years “that looks like they built it themselves,” keeping a drying rack in their kitchen for “plastic Ziploc bags,” coming to the front door in “70s short shorts with crocs.” The list went on and on. He also reminded us that with President Carter there was never a difference between his public and private face. This took me back some 20 years ago when I asked someone close to Nelson Mandela what made him so special, and they said, “consistency—Mandela said the same things behind closed doors as he did in public.”
President Carter’s advisor, Stuart Eizenstat, debunked the myth that Carter’s work only mattered after his Presidency. He reinforced that Carter was way ahead of his time, “prophetic” in the far-sighted vision he had across many issues. Stuart’s speech is worth listening to as a reminder of the courage it takes for a political leader to make decisions that are unpopular but are the right long-term decisions for future generations.
Credit: The Elders
Civil rights leader Reverend Andrew Young started his tribute with: “Jimmy Carter was something of a miracle, becoming President from Plains, Georgia.” He spoke about how Carter was a minority as a white man in the south, and he became the friend of the majority. Symbolising the greatness of America through his “tough mind and tender heart,” in the words of Martin Luther King, and through his constant everyday acts of goodness to everyone. The Reverend also shared how the United States is also something of a miracle, how we’ve come together across different backgrounds, diversity of colour, creed, national origin, experiences of slave and slave owners. He challenged Americans to keep this miracle alive as President Carter did and will continue to do through his legacy with The Carter Center.
Jason Carter also reminded us that President Carter spent four years in Atlanta, four years in DC, and the other 92 years in Plains, Georgia. There have been many press articles about how the Carters shunned social life in Washington DC. After watching President Carter in action for the last 20 years, I think the press missed the point that for the Carters, social life was not about networking for personal gain and making meaningless small talk—their social life was focused on building deep, meaningful relationships with each other and the people who would help them change the world for the better, like their extended family, the very diverse group who lined up for hours in the frigid cold outside the Capitol to say goodbye, those who they befriended in all parts of the world on their quest to protect democracy and eliminate forgotten diseases, their incredible team at The Carter Center, the people of Plains, Georgia, and friends like The Elders. These were the people and the conversations they cared about and dedicated their lives to.
For the past 20 years through my work at Virgin Unite, I’ve had the good fortune to support a group focused on peace and human rights, called The Elders, of which President Carter was a key part. I’ve witnessed the Carters and other fellow Elders nurture the relationships that loved them and many others into being. Over the past decade I was honoured to celebrate the lives of four Elders and friends who are now reunited: President Nelson Mandela, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Kofi Annan, and now President Carter. I can just see them together once again plotting how to spread “good trouble,” as John Lewis used to say. It was interesting to hear the common threads that were shared at all four of their celebrations of life—honesty, decency, integrity, grace, joy, peace, hard work, kindness, a sense of urgency and possibility, a life of service to others, and unfathomable persistence.
Credit: The Elders
These four leaders were not dreamers, they were doers. They were not foolishly chasing some utopian dream, they were grounded in informed possibility. They rolled up their sleeves and mastered an enormous amount of detail. They were not fazed by slights and bullies; their resolve was only strengthened. They knew how to play the long game with a sense of urgency for the people they served. They chose to focus on the good rather than the bad. They dared to defy the impossible and were consistently led by love, putting their hope into action rather than just words. They believed in gentle power earned by listening to others. They were humble and knew that the most important thing in life is investing in relationships that make you the very best version of yourself in order to do the most good in the world for others. They are the morally courageous leaders we need to learn from today.
Thanks, President Carter, for sharing these lessons everyday of your life and through your carefully curated final Sunday School lesson. Every time I looked at the altar where you were draped in the American flag, all I could hear were your words – never, ever, ever give up.
