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Dear Mid-America Friends in Ministry,
Over the last few days, we’ve experienced a wide range of emotions in the wake of the election. While some have experienced exuberance and excitement, others have felt a profound sense of grief, coupled with an impending fear of the future.
As Disciples, we hold fast to the idea that unity is our polar star. At the same time, we recognize that our experiences and perspectives aren’t always the same, and that many of us process and absorb things differently. In moments like these, unity can feel hard to come by, especially when our nation — and the churches in it — feel so fractured. A commitment to unity can sometimes feel naive and idealistic, especially in an environment in which politics of division threaten to undermine the dignity and value of all human beings and the planet we share.
As Christians, we must never forget that we are committed first and foremost to the gospel of Christ, which transcends all political persuasions in every time and place. If we are serious about the kind of unity shaped in and through the spirit of Christ, then it’s important to point out that the path to unity can never take as its starting point the fundamental disrespect and dehumanization of others. Indeed, to normalize the fundamental disrespect and dehumanization of others is precisely what precludes unity, leading to violence. As people of the table, we recognize that true unity is based on hospitality and welcome, mutuality and love — not disdain and disparagement. As the late Peruvian theologian Gustavo Gutiérrez reminded us, “Love can only exist among equals.”
Many have said these times are unprecedented, but we’ve been here before. The election wasn’t the only thing we participated in this week; we also observed All Saints Sunday, with that great cloud of witnesses reminding us we’ve been through hard times before, and God’s spirit of love will get us through.
From Bible times we remember Ruth and Naomi, who traveled together and survived when all felt lost, with God’s spirit of love getting them through.
We remember Queen Esther, who saved her people from destruction, with God’s spirit of love getting them through.
More recently we remember saints like Sojourner Truth — a formerly enslaved woman who refused to be shackled by the racism and patriarchy all around her — with God’s spirit of love getting her through.
We remember Fannie Lou Hamer, who led alongside the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, singing songs of liberation, knowing that God’s spirit of love would get them through.
Ultimately, God’s spirit of love will get us through too. If there’s anything that Jesus’s cross testifies to it’s this: The powers and principalities may try to kill God’s spirit of love, but they can’t, no matter how hard they try. God’s spirit of love keeps coming back. It got our forebears through, and it will get us through too.
As a movement for wholeness in a fragmented world, Disciples are prepared for these times. “For God did not give us a spirit of fear, but of power and love” (2 Tim. 1:7). So may we project and pray for a hopeful future where all God's children flourish. As the church, this is what we work for every day, to embody a new realm where the last will be first, and all will live in plenty and peace in the spirit of the living God.
Praying with and for you always,
Your Regional Minister Team
Rev. Dr. Paul Koch
Rev. Ron Routledge
Rev. Dr. Phil Snider
Rev. David Woodard
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