Picking back up on our Bishop's Pastoral Letter from earlier this month, I want to reflect on the second of his three points: vote. As you may remember, he called upon us all to pray, to vote, and to love as we prepare for this upcoming election. For the Christian, the three can't really be separated, and yet they have their own distinctive characteristics that are worth exploring.

 

Elections are voting. Any kind of election is about making choices, hopefully informed choices.  And while we take voting to be routine these days, it hasn't always been so throughout history.  In fact, it's not a question of whether we as a people take voting for granted; the historically low turnout at public elections fairly well illustrates that Americans, as a group, are rather relaxed in their voting habits. A little more than half of eligible voters turn out to the polls for presidential elections; even less for midterms. Voting turnout percentages skew older, wealthier, and higher educated, with the highest demographics topping out around 75% turnout. My guess is that a congregation like Christ Church is full of likely voters who may not need much encouragement.