Bishop Susan’s Reflection on the Presidential Election

All my hope on God is founded; he doth still my trust renew,
Me through change and chance he guideth, only good and only true.
God unknown, he alone calls my heart to be his own.
 
Mortal pride and earthly glory, sword and crown betray my trust;
Though with care and toil we build them, tower and temple fall to dust.
But God’s power, hour by hour, is my temple and my tower.
(Hymnal 1982 #665)

As our country wakes up to the results of a consequential election, Americans are deeply divided. In our church, some Episcopalians are happy with the results, but many others are fearful, anxious, grieving, dreading what is to come and worried about themselves and their neighbors. Today I write to all of us, to encourage us to come together in faith, hope, and love.

Faith does not mean certainty; faith means we trust God to guide us through all the challenges before us. Hope is not the same as optimism that everything will go our way; hope means we know God can bring light into the deepest darkness. Love does not mean pleasant feelings; love means a decision we make over and over to put the welfare of others first, to work for the benefit of our neighbors, and to walk in the way that Christ showed us in his life, death, and resurrection.

This is a time for us to place our hope in God. Worldly leaders have never been our savior; Christ is our savior. A time of struggle and disagreement is a time for the church to remember our deepest calling: to follow Jesus in the Way of Love. The Way of Love does not have to be meek and unassuming; it can call us to speak out to protect the vulnerable and work for justice. This time of division in our country is a time for us to stand together as the Body of Christ and stay vigilant in our care for those who suffer. It is a time to work to bridge disagreements. It is a time to practice respectful listening and reconciliation with each other inside the church, and to provide an example of reconciliation to the wider world. It is a time to remember that we follow the God of hope, and our hope in Christ will never fail us.

And it is a time for prayer. We pray that God will bring our country together through all its current divisions and disagreements, that the rights of all will be protected and that the church’s witness may be strong. We pray for our president-elect and our elected leaders at all levels of government, that God may strengthen their minds and hearts to know the Way of Love. We pray for our Church and ourselves, that we may always follow Jesus where he leads us.

O God, you made us in your own image and redeemed us through Jesus your Son: Look with compassion on the whole human family; take away the arrogance and hatred which infect our hearts; break down the walls that separate us; unite us in bonds of love; and work through our struggle and confusion to accomplish your purposes on earth; that, in your good time, all nations and races may serve you in harmony around your heavenly throne; through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Prayer for the Human Family, BCP p. 815)