Pilgrimage Ponderings
A Hopeful Encounter
Last night at church, in our class on United Methodism, we looked at the voter guide prepared by the General Board of Church and Society. You can check it out here: http://www.umc-gbcs.org/site/c.frLJK2PKLqF/b.4565653/.
Our congregation is like a microcosm of our country in some ways. There are people who have deeply held convictions about politics from both political parties. What gives me hope for people of faith is that we were able to discuss last night that our faith does influence our politics, but that as Christians, we also can agree that in some areas, at least, we have common beliefs about what God wants for our world, even if we disagree on how to get there.
It was said last night that there has been a time in this church where the suggestion was made that a person could not really be a Christian if she/her were part of ________ party. But last night, at least, there seem to be an acknowledgement that we could trust that everyone in the room was a follower of Christ.
I see this encounter as a hopeful sign that when we start with our conviction to follow Jesus Christ, and when we recognize that Jesus calls us to be loving in how we engage other people, people of faith have an opportunity to learn how to talk to each other across the aisle in ways that move us forward rather than paralyse us.
