Some of our church leaders have prepared messages for us as we reflect on the election. Our presiding (national) bishop, Elizabeth Eaton, uses a visual aid to show how we can find strength in being woven together as congregations of the ELCA around a common mission of care for the “least of these” (Matthew 25). Our regional bishop, Jeff Johnson, shares a message on rededicating ourselves to Christian discipleship. He’s hosted online gatherings for pastors and other rostered leaders to share how we’re doing and what we’re planning. Some churches are hosting vigils and services meant to help people process and pray about election results (Joe Haletky shared about one at the local UCC church).
Politics in church? It’s part of life, like health concerns. We can share our struggles, concerns and joys with people who care about us. So also every Sunday we share prayers for those who are ill and for our government. Our denomination has more detailed statements about politics and church (here and here) and avoiding partisanship.
Here’s a couple of challenges we’ve been pondering. What if when we’re talking politics with someone we seem to agree with, we try to talk as if someone who doesn’t vote like us was part of the conversation? Not to avoid expressing unpleasant feelings, but maybe to avoid untrue assumptions?
A second challenge is just that we’re patient with one another. We won’t always say the right thing. And we can appreciate each other’s understanding , forgiveness and support.
Of course, when politics comes up we can also excuse ourselves: “I’d rather not talk about that right now.” At church, we can focus on worship and scripture. This isn’t to take a break from the issues we face in the real world. Worship gets very real. From the confession when the bell rings, we name the truth of how broken we are in this world – and we face the God whose love for us is total. Our media feeds can’t be trusted. The good news about Christ can be trusted. During uncertain times, God’s word and presence are like solid ground beneath our feet.
Facing the future, remember the words we sang on Reformation Sunday: “Lord, keep us steadfast in your word.” Which means: stay steadfastly hopeful. Stay steadfastly focused on the needs of our neighbors, especially those who are most vulnerable. This past week we used our immigrant accompaniment fund to help a Salvadoran woman who came here to seek asylum from gang violence. Soon, we’ll be gathering gifts for local families in need through our Angel Tree program, organized by the Woman’s Group.
We’ll continue to be a safe place for immigrants and for people diverse in sexual orientation and gender identity, as we say in our welcome statement:
We, the community of First Evangelical Lutheran Church in Palo Alto, proclaim that Christ, in grace, draws all people to himself. We welcome the full participation of people of all ages, ethnic backgrounds, sexual orientations, gender identities, physical and mental abilities, educational backgrounds, and economic conditions. We value families in their many, diverse forms and we support marriage equality for all couples. We embrace people from diverse faith backgrounds, Christians from every tradition and people new to faith.
I think we’d agree that this welcome is extended also to people who vote differently. In our divided, conflicted world – we give thanks for the unity we share through our baptism into Christ.
– Pastors Kate & Bernt
