Governor John Kasich Delivers Year's Second Portrait in Faith Address

This year, Episcopal was fortunate to welcome not one, but two Portrait and Faith speakers to campus. 
In March, climate scientist Dr. Katharine Hayhoe took the stage in Pendleton to encourage the community to embrace both faith and science. Last week, Ohio’s Governor John Kasich offered an address in Callaway Chapel that charged students to let their conscience guide them in the face of tough choices.

The Portrait in Faith program was established in 1994 by Reginald E. Rutledge, Jr. ’51, in honor of his wife the Reverend Fleming Rutledge and his family members who attended EHS. The program seeks to educate and inspire students by exposing them to models of Christian faith.

Gov. Kasich was sworn in as Ohio’s 69th governor in 2011 and re-elected to a second four-year term in 2014. As governor, his top priority has been to create a job-friendly climate and to increase opportunity for all Ohioans. He campaigned in the 2016 Republican presidential primaries and is a leading voice on the national stage, calling for bipartisan solutions to health care reform, immigration, and international trade.

He shared stories from his blue-collar upbringing in McKees Rocks, Pa., where as an altar boy he began to develop a relationship with God — a relationship that would wax and wane over the years. Then, in 1987, while representing Ohio’s 12th Congressional District in the US Congress, he learned that his parents had been killed in a collision with a drunk driver. “It was like the worst dream you could ever have,” Gov. Kasich said. It was an encounter with a young minister at the hospital, who told him that his mother was where she always wanted to be, that led Gov. Kasich to rediscover his faith. “All of a sudden, I had something to hang on to,” he said.

Gov. Kasich credits his faith, along with his commitment to listening to his conscience, with helping him to make decisions that impact thousands of lives. He challenged EHS students to live with integrity, courage, and compassion, and urged them to always do what’s right, even when it requires short-term sacrifice.

Henry Barrett ’18, head of the EHS Democratic Club, said, "It was great to have Governor Kasich join us on Friday. His message on hope and resilience resounded with many students regardless of political viewpoints.”

Gov. Kasich attends an Anglican church and gathers with a Bible study group that he has described as having been his rock for more than two decades.
 
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