People Have Been Asking...
Dear Friends and Members of Shadow Rock!
During this election season we have been exploring how progressive Christianity is different from Christian nationalism. We have held election education events, shared voter guides, and we are a polling station. We have not run away from the unfortunate polarization of the political climate. Instead we have run toward it encouraging discussion, participation, and civility. We walk the edge on this and sometimes we walk the cutting edge.
The latest action was the placement of a voter guide sign with a website and QR code. The sign is made by the Legislative District 2 Democrats and it definitely has a political party bias. I was asked if it could be placed and I agreed to it. This is my responsibility. There are two ideas that inform my decisions around this issue.
First, I think we live in a time of history that moderate and reasonable people are taken advantage of by unreasonable extremists. History reminds us that people who do not play by the rules will not hesitate to run over people who have integrity and play by the rules. Rabbi Edwin Friedman said, "Reasonableness is the natural manure for terrorism." It is past time for reasonable people with values of inclusion, justice, and human dignity to declare themselves and speak up. To not speak up is to be complicit with evil.
Second, as passionate as I feel about the first point, I do my best to live within the parameters of pastoral care and love. This second point can temper me in my living out the first point. I have said it several times from the pulpit that I do not care what political sign a person has in their front yard. I want people to be able to call me if they need a pastor. This means I put constraints on my freedom for the sake of love in our spiritual family. When we do this we create a spiritual culture where each of us are "out doing" each other in honoring each other. This is a spiritual family household ethic.
These two points will always be in creative tension with each other. The coming together of these two ideas and a robust discussion among us has resulted in the taking down of the sign. Please note this was not my decision, but as the decision of the person who requested to put the sign up to begin with. This person decided to put constraints on their freedom and not to insist on having their way for the sake of love.
I am proud of our community for standing on the side of our core values of inclusion and justice and even prouder when we temper our freedom for the sake of love for one another.
Pastor Ken
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