October 14, 2020

Dear Ones,

Are you anxious about what the next few weeks will hold, both before and after the election? I know I am.

Let me quickly clarify that I am not straying into partisan politics here. I am speaking as a human being and as a citizen of this country. You don’t need me to tell you that we are living through a time of extreme division, conflict, and, yes, anxiety. Wherever one may fall on the political spectrum, we should all want justice, transparency, and democratic norms to be stronger than they appear to be right now.

The question I keep pondering is: What should the church do about it?

Over the next few days I will ask our communications team to gather up the resources that are being provided for us by the Episcopal Church’s Office of Government Relations. I want to make sure that we all have access to the good work that our own denomination’s leaders are doing on our behalf in this area, and to their calls for our participation.

There’s something else you can do. Please join me in reading Citizen: Faithful Discipleship in a Partisan World by Bishop C. Andrew Doyle. Yes, we’ll be discussing it in the Rector’s Book Club via Zoom on October 25 and sure, I’d like to see that be a robust and well-attended conversation. But I think the need for this book may be bigger than that. I think it could provide an important grounding for our community as we continue to discern how best to engage in the world, whether through Social Justice and Outreach, Care for God’s Creation, interfaith gatherings, or other avenues that we discover together.

Here are just a few lines from the foreword, to help illustrate how high the stakes are for this conversation: “When good, polite, and well-meaning people of faith, in a sincere effort to get along, avoid the subjects of politics and religion, they abdicate both their civic and their religious responsibility, and they leave the conversation to those who will exploit division….Realizing God’s dream for human flourishing recedes, and the church of Christ is weakened.” –Cynthia Briggs Kettridge

Won’t you join me in reading this book and in talking about the dream of God, the demands of citizenship, and what it means to be a faithful Christian in today’s hyper-partisan world? We have copies available if you need one.

All of our anxiety and worry will be just wasted energy if it doesn’t lead us to further discernment, engagement, and action. My favorite Bible passage is Matthew 6:34 (I memorized a quick version of it as, “Do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Let the day’s own trouble be sufficient for the day.”). This verse reminds me that I need to cast my worries and my cares upon God, who offers us the peace that passes all understanding.

But my other favorite passage urges us to loose the bonds of injustice and break free from all oppression (Isaiah 58:6). This reminds me that I can release my hold on my anxieties without stepping away from my responsibility to follow Jesus along the path of liberating and life-giving love.

Finally, please remember, if the stress really is getting to be too much, it’s okay to take a break from the news. It’s okay–more than okay–to reach out to someone and share that you’re struggling. It’s really okay not to be okay. You are a beloved child of God, part of this beloved community. Never forget that.

With gratitude for the faithful disciples among us who continue to teach me so much,

Blessings,

Pamela+