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One of the scribes…asked Jesus, “Which commandment is the first of all?” Jesus answered, “The first is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one; you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself,’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” – Mark 12:28-31 |
Beloved of God,
After a week in August that saw some of the lowest temperatures in decades and the wettest August days of record, we’ve rebounded for a warm and beautiful weekend of summer—and I for one am relishing it! Wherever this weekend finds you, I hope you can revel in God’s good creation while enjoying things you love!
As usual, our life in community at Peace is ramping up this month, with special events and opportunities awaiting your presence and participation. Among them are the HABITAT INTERFAITH BUILD September 6/7 and 13/14 and our RALLY SUNDAY CELEBRATION on September 22nd with special guests Pastor Kevin Beebe and Ashleigh Ellsworth-Keller of Camp Lutherwood. Please mark your calendars! You can read more about these and other congregational events in the pages that follow.
In addition to our fall programming and the start of the school year, this autumn is being indelibly stamped by another occasion which will dominate our lives over the next two months—the most consequential election season of our lifetimes. In recent years I’ve become alarmed by the rhetoric of the so-called Christian right as they wrap themselves in the flag, assume the title “patriot,” and claim divine sanction for their candidate of choice. The language being used, and the actions they support, are downright idolatrous. Blueprints are being formulated (such as Project 2025) that openly promote the end of democracy as we’ve known it—and do so in the name of God. This cannot stand.
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“Christian nationalism in the United States is a political ideology and cultural framework that seeks to fuse American and Christian identities. It suggests that “real” Americans are Christians, and that “true” Christians hold a particular set of political beliefs. It seeks to create a society in which only this narrow subset of Americans is privileged by law and in societal practice…Christian nationalism employs the language, symbols and imagery of Christianity…to advance its own aims. It points not to Jesus of Nazareth but to the nation, as conceived of by a dangerous political ideology, as the object of allegiance.” – Amanda Tyler of Christians Against Christian Nationalism, writing in the Sept/Oct 2024 issue of Sojourners Magazine |
While you and I may not always agree on the best course of action when it comes to candidates for office and propositions that come before us, as Lutherans we recognize our duty to participate in the democratic process as informed citizens, and to encourage others to do the same. Our baptismal covenant includes: “serving all people and creation, following the example of Jesus,” and “striving for justice and peace in all the earth.” Love for God and neighbor compels us to engage in conversations about public policy and other topics where the good of the community is at stake, with an eye toward maintaining justice and caring for the needs of the most vulnerable.
A group of Peace folk met recently to ask how we, as a community of faith, might respond to the rise of Christian nationalism and the claims that are being made in the name of “Christians.” Let me know if you’d like to be involved in future meetings. More bombastic voices is not the answer. We need to do something more than add more fuel to the fire. One option under consideration is partnering with the organization Paths of Understanding to host a Potluck for Democracy—which would bring together neighbors and members of other faith communities—Christian and non-Christion—for the purpose of genuine human encounter and bridge building. One tenant of Christian nationalism is that people who are “different” from us (i.e. us white people) cannot be trusted. Face to face engagement over a shared meal is one simple way of challenging that falsehood. Jesus made that kind of meal fellowship a core part of his ministry and his teaching. And he left his disciples the template for a Meal that they (that is, WE) have been carrying out in his name ever since.
The rhetoric of those who want to subvert our democracy and replace it with a system that privileges certain individuals who meet their criteria as “deserving Chrisitan Americans” must be challenged. Those of us of voting age will have our chance at the ballot box on November 5th, but before we reach November we have the opportunity to offer an alternative narrative to the fearful and hateful ones that are being promulgated in the name of Christ.
With you on the Way,
Pastor Erik
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