For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope.  –Jeremiah 29:11 (NRSV)

While Americans have always had their differences based on political preferences and how we work to progress the ideal of “liberty and justice for all,” for years we managed to find ways to work together to accomplish this end.

All that has changed, and while it has been coming for some time, ideological differences have hardened into sharp lines of division. Those who disagree are not simply wrong, they have become the enemy. Anger and antipathy have escalated, and neighbors with different positions are vilified. In some cases, anger has intensified into rage, and then to physical violence. Concern over the integrity of our elections—most often driven by unfounded questions about the safety of absentee/mail-in voting—has risen to the point of fear that the election will be stolen by one side or the other. In some instances, intimidation, violence, and the spread of misinformation are being deployed in an attempt to disenfranchise “undesirable voters.”

As Christians, we recognize Jesus as the Prince of Peace, the one who claimed, “Blessed are the peacemakers.” He called upon us to love our neighbors, and to treat our neighbor as we would wish to be treated. He urged us not just to forgive, but to forgive “seventy times seven.” He told us that we must recognize our own shortcomings, saying, “Do not judge, so that you may not be judged…how can you say to your neighbor, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ while the log is in your own eye?”

We grieve the emergence of anger and resentment and the rise of violence and threats of violence that have come during this highly fraught political season, made more difficult because of a pandemic that has had a negative effect on millions of Americans. We pray for peace, that we may find ways to come back together and to mend our differences. But we can’t stop there.

As people who believe that all persons are created in the image of God, we believe that all persons deserve dignity and respect—regardless of gender, race, age, ethnicity, sexual orientation or gender identity, abilities, or socio-economic status, and even if we hold widely divergent social or political views.

Therefore, we call upon our neighbors everywhere to respect our differences, and to come together to ensure that we have a safe, secure, and accurate election. We support peaceful demonstration upholding the right of all eligible persons to vote, and we denounce attempts to intimidate or perpetrate violence on those who attempt to exercise that right.

We know that the final outcome may not—probably will not—be determined by the end of the evening on November 3. We call for patience at a time when millions are choosing to vote by mail to protect their own health and the health of their families and coworkers. We affirm that every legally cast vote must be counted, whether cast in person or by a specified mail-in process, even if it takes a few days or possibly weeks after Election Day.

We live in an unprecedented time. It will take every one of us—people of faith or no faith and people of good will—to stand together to demand a peaceful election and to uphold the sanctity of every vote. May we accept the outcomes, even if they differ from the persons and positions we supported. May we be prepared to work peacefully for what is important to us, regardless of the outcomes. And finally, may we be guided by the God who desires that we love each other and live together in peace.

Pennsylvania Council of Churches (prepared by the Rev. Sandra L. Strauss, Director of Advocacy)

October 28, 2020