Chruches urgin people to pick virtue over vitriol
Faith leaders remind us to look for the things thatwill unite us, notwhat divides us.
Several local church leadersmade pleas for unity Sunday in the wake of the violent riots at the U.S. Capitol, urging people to choose the virtue of their religious beliefs over the divisiveness of our political culture.
Ginghamsburg Church in Tipp City prayed for those hurt or killed at the Capitol, prayed that government leaders would be led by God’s wisdom, and prayed that all of us would be guided by light and truth rather than blaming and hating those we see as “others.”
“We human beings have a tendency to want to create categories of us and them,” Ginghamsburg Pastor Rachel Billups said. “But those things are not our identity. Red and blue is not where we fifind our peace. Political parties and candidates is not where we fifind our unity.”
Billups, likemany otherministers, called formembers of her church to turn to their faith instead.
Rev. Peter Matthews, at Grace United Methodist Church in Dayton, played a tape of philosopher and political activist Cornel West, asking howpeople could sustain hopes for democracy in times
of “spiritual blackout,” when empathy, courage, integrity and decency were lacking.
West talked about the sparks of love, truth and justice never being snuffffffffffffed out, but that “sleepwalkers” needed to awaken, ascend to their better selves, and then pursue something bigger than themselves.
“There is a global perception that America is at
an inflection point,” Matthews said. “Are you ready to answer the call of God that’s been on your life the whole time? To no longer circumvent, and say, well, I’m only human. To do away with righteous excuses.”
Some congregationsmade public statements earlier this week. Temple Beth Or inWashington Twp. decried the violence and called for unity and justice amid “the great dividewhich threatens our nation.”
“As in the beaut i ful words of the prayer, may we remember ‘that both the left wing and the right wing are attachedto the samebird and both wings are needed to soar,’ “temple officials wrote.
At St. Helen Catholic Church inRiverside, Rev. Jim Fitz saidwhile Jesus Christ is seen as “the light,” Americans have experiencedmuch darkness in recent months — from the COVID-19 pandemic, to racism, to “the darkness ofour presentpolitical environment.” He called on each person to do their part to shatter the darkness.
“May we come to know (each of ) ourselves as the beloved son or daughter of God,” Fitz said. “And let us act out of this belief. It will make an incredible difffffffffffference in the way we see others, the way we treat others and the way we live our lives. Itwill make an incredible difffffffffffference in this time of darkness.”
Rev. Joshua Ward told his Omega Baptist congregation that politics stunned him twice in 16 hours this week. First, when Raphael Warnock’s 82-year-old mother, years removed from picking cotton, voted in her own Black son’s successful run for U.S. Senate, Ward said, “I don’t recognize this Georgia.”
But hours later, Ward saw a mob spurred on by President Donald Trump storming the U.S. Capitol building, with congressmen hiding under benches. “I don’t recognize this America,” Ward said.
On a Sunday when many Christian churches focus on the story of Jesus’ baptism, Ward talked about going out “into the wild” like John the Baptist did. He said people should not be seeking just forgiveness of sins, but following John’s “message of life change.”
At Ginghamsburg, Billups said the bad news is that our country is divided and “human beings are bent on giving one another hell.” She said the good news is that long ago, when all hope seemedlost, andpeoplewere sinners and at each other’s throats, “Jesus Christ came to bring healing.”
She said even in tough times, Americans can act on that today, connecting each other as bridges, rather thanbeing onemorebarrier. She cited a model, calling for people to ask anything, listen well, freely disagree and love regardless.
“You say I’ma dreamer?” Billups asked.“Youbet Iam.”
“I have a vision for this faith community that we can create honest vulnerable space to have hard conversations without destroying one another with our words,” she said. “Imagine that … We could experience that kind of healing and wholeness. We could agree to disagree. … Let’s all be the bridge.”