About a week before the election a colleague in ministry from another local Presbyterian church reached out to pastors in the area with an idea. She wanted to collaborate on a letter that would be published in a local paper the day after the election. This was to be a letter from members of the clergy that would preach hope and peace regardless of the election results. I wanted to share this letter with you all because I believe it holds an important message.
If you are discouraged or upset by the results of this election, I encourage you to strive to love your neighbors and lift up your hearts in prayer. If you are encouraged and happy with the results of the election, I encourage you to strive to love your neighbors and lift up your hearts in prayer. Remember that each and every person you meet is a child of God first and foremost. That label and identity comes before all others and we are called to love all of God's children.
“On November 9th, we awake to the results of an election that has bitterly divided our nation. It is tempting to proclaim winners and losers and to treat this election cycle like a sporting match where one party has emerged victorious at the expense of the other.
But to do so would be a grave mistake. In the aftermath of such an election season we will all need to work diligently to repair the damage done. Those who founded this country believed that there is more that unites us than there is that divides us. The candidates who celebrate victory on election night must rise in the morning prepared to govern for the good of all people, including those who voted against them. To forget this is to forget the history of this great nation, to forget the ideals and the hope of government of the people, by the people, for the people.
We are leaders of faith communities that, for centuries, have had many disagreements. And yet, we believe that what is more important than those things that divide us are those things that bring us together. In that spirit, our prayer for our community and for our nation is that we might set aside the rancor and bitterness of the campaign season in order to remember that we are Americans together. Together, we pray for the wisdom to remember the challenge of Isaiah: that our life together depends upon our ability to turn the swords and spears of hostility and division into the plowshares and pruning hooks of peace and unity.
May God be with us all, and the wisdom of the Divine guide those who lead the people, this day and every day. Amen.
Rev. Bruce Ballantine Morrisville Presbyterian Church
Rev. Wendy Bellis Morrisville United Methodist Church
Rev. Kyle Benoit Greater Grace Community Church
Rev. Josh Blakesley Warminster United Church of Christ
Rabbi Anna Boswell-Levy Congregation Kol Emet
Rev. Catherine Bowers St. Andrews United Methodist Church
Rev. Luky Cotto Casa del Pueblo Latino Ministry of Lehman Memorial UMC
Rev. Dr. Nancy Dilliplane Trinity Buckingham Episcopal Church
Rev. Chris Edwards Northampton Presbyterian Church
Rev. Susan Fall Forest Grove Presbyterian Church
Rev. Laura Ferguson Newtown Presbyterian Church
Rev. Joshua D. Gill Doylestown Presbyterian Church
Rev. Bailey Heckman Thompson Memorial Presbyterian Church
Rev. Debbie Heffernan Morrisville Presbyterian Church
Rev. Doug Hoglund Woodside Presbyterian Church
Mary Dyer Hubbard Pastoral Counselor
Rev. Lynn Hade Church of the Advent
Rev. Keith Ingram Bucks County Seventh Day Adventist Church
Rev. Stacey Jones-Anderson First United Methodist Church Bristol
Rev. Catherine D. Kerr Good Shepherd Episcopal Church
Rev. Nathan Krause Redeemer Lutheran Church
Rev. Bill Lentz Lehman Memorial United Methodist Church
Rev. Nancy Ludwig Lehman Memorial United Methodist Church
Rev. Joe Martin Fallsington United Methodist Church
Rev. Sam Massengill Newtown Presbyterian Church
Rev. Dr. Kari McClellan First Presbyterian of Levittown
Rev. Mary McCullough Trinity Episcopal Church Ambler
Rev. Leah Miller Anchor Presbyterian Church
Rev. Dorry Newcomer Newtown United Methodist Church
Rev. Jake Presley Bux-Mont Baptist Church
Rev. Eric Reimer St. John Evangelical Lutheran Church
Rev. Keith Roberts Doylestown Presbyterian Church
Rev. Michael Ruk, St. Philip’s Episcopal Church, New Hope
Rev. Janet L. Saddel St. Paul’s United Methodist Church, Warrington
Rev. Michael Saunders Crossway Community Church
Chaplain Susan Sciarratta Counselor, Insight Christian Counseling
Rev. Barbara Seekford Chalfont United Methodist Church
Rev. Stuart H. Spencer Thompson Memorial Presbyterian Church
Rev. Doug Stratton Hatboro Baptist Church
Rev. Mark Studer Neshaminy-Warwick Presbyterian Church
Rev. Jim Sutton New Britain Baptist Church
Rev. Bill Teague Langhorne Presbyterian Church
Rev. Lorelei K. Toombs Willow Grove United Methodist Church
Rev. Sarah Weisiger Ivyland Presbyterian Church
Rev. John Willingham Doylestown Presbyterian Church”
