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The voting equipment was delivered this morning, by a couple lovely gentleman who deliver lots of election equipment; a delivery organized by another lovely chap named Melvin, who has been our equipment contact for the last few elections. And we’ve been in contact with a number of other County Election folks, Heather, Kendra, Tacoma to name a few, who are communicating with all the County’s voting locations, and most certainly with folks in both political parties, and the companies that maintain election equipment and myriad others. Our election judges will be Colleen & Rowell, who have been with us these last few elections, and I bet we’ll see a fair few of the same committed election workers that have created a smooth voting experience these last couple years. And Fernando and Juan and Elena and Jacque and other church staff who will work with this voting center team to make sure Northway is the most welcoming host in the County.
It takes a whole lot of hands, brains, and voices to pull together the key fulcrum of our political system. So, let’s pray for all those folks who are dedicating themselves to our elections. Early voting begins in Fellowship Hall on Monday!
As we prepare to demonstrate again Northway’s commitment to who we are and what we believe, especially having Open Doors, I wanted to turn us to a prayer written by my friend, Rev. Stan Copeland, who has started a Substack in his retirement. Stan was the lead pastor at Lovers Lane UMC for almost 3 decades. And in preparing and praying for our upcoming elections and for Northway’s hosting an election site, I have referred back to a prayer that Stan recently posted, so I wanted to share it here with our community as we prepare to welcome voters over the next 3 weeks:
A Prayer for Our Nation, Our Church, and Our Neighbors
Gracious God, you have called us to be salt of the earth and light for the world, so make us faithful in the places where you have planted us. Keep us from becoming so certain of our own righteousness that we forget the people standing across from us are also your beloved children. Teach us to disagree without becoming enemies, to stand firmly for what we believe without becoming cruel, and to seek the good of our neighbors even when we see the world through different eyes.
Lord, in a nation so deeply divided, make us people who build bridges rather than burn them. Give wisdom and courage to those who serve in public office and remind them that leadership is not about winning every argument but about serving people with humility, integrity and compassion. May character matter, may truth matter, may mercy matter, and may the common good matter more than political victory.
When the manure of life piles high around us, give us grace to manage it well. Take our disappointments, our failures, our grief and even our divisions, and by your mysterious grace turn them into fertile soil where something good can grow. Help us remember that what looks like waste to us may become, in your hands, the very ground from which new life emerges.
Make your church a place where the door is never locked, where there is always room for one more, and where relationships matter more than reputations. Teach us to welcome the stranger, feed the hungry, care for the forgotten, forgive the wounded and love those who are difficult to love. May people who have given up on the church encounter through us something they cannot deny—the love of Jesus Christ.
And when we are tempted to hate those who wear a different color, carry a different sign or vote a different way, remind us that they are still our neighbors. Give us the courage to pray for one another rather than against one another, and the humility to believe that none of us possesses the whole truth apart from you.
Make us salt, Lord. Not salt sitting safely in the shaker, but salt scattered into the world where it can preserve what is good, season what is bland and bring healing where there is hurt. Make us people who carry your grace into our homes, our farms, our churches, our communities, and our nation.
And when we speak of this country we love, may we remember not simply its power, its politics or its prosperity, but the deeper hope that we might become what our finest ideals call us to be: under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
See you Sunday!
Neil Moseley
Director of Community Engagement
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