Do you have a plan to vote? Ted, Sam, and I had a plan to go to the Washington County Government Center to vote and then go out for breakfast—making an event of it and celebrating the liberty of exercising this powerful right as citizens and duty as people of faith. Covid recovery kept us from breakfast, but we kept our date to vote and proudly wore our “I Voted” stickers!

And yet, it seems like every election cycle we must revisit the question of the intersection of church and state. Folks have STRONG opinions about this and different visions for what it should or should not look like.

The Wednesday Night Adult Faith Lab has kept up the conversation about civic discipleship—how to live as followers of Jesus in our shared public life. It is a highly appropriate conversation to have at church, with other Christians, discovering how our faith gets lived out in every aspect of our life in the world. We will continue this conversation after the election, so please join us.

The First Amendment of our constitution reads: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

Christian Nationalism argues that not only is the U.S. particularly favored by God, but that the U.S. was established as a Christian nation. This simply is not true. Our nation was established such that citizens are free to assemble for worship according to whatever creed unites and inspires them.

As Christians, we gather around the promise of God-with-us, the resurrection to eternal life, and the invitation to create and inhabit the Kingdom of God in this world, as modeled and ushered in by Jesus Christ. The faith that informs us calls us to active participation in life with and for our neighbor. We are informed by the values we uphold as people of God to shape our participation in public life, politics, and elections.

We are free both as citizens of the U.S. and as the people of God to exercise our vote.

The ELCA reminds us that voting is part of our baptismal vocation—the Spirit inspired way we live out our faith in the world. The movement #elcavotes actively informs voters of their rights and recruits Lutherans to participate as elections judges and poll workers. One of the posters offered in their material says: “Although we may disagree about the best way to achieve the public good, we do not disagree about our shared responsibility to seek it.” This comes from the ELCA Social Message on Government and Civic Engagement in the United States: Discipleship in a Democracy. You can read the full document here: https://download.elca.org/ELCA%20Resource%20Repository/Government_and_Civic_Engagement_Social_Message.pdf

It is our baptismal vocation to fulfill our responsibility to seek the good of the neighbor. One of the most powerful ways we do that in this country is to vote. And to hold our elected representatives accountable for adherence to our shared laws, to the peaceful transfer of power, and to the dignity of every resident of our nation. Please make a plan to vote.

You are also welcome to join us on Election Day, Nov. 5. The Worship Center will be open for prayer from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. We have created a short service of word and music to guide your prayer. Come and stay as long as you like. Everyone is welcome.

Blessings and peace,

Pastor Chris