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Dear Covenant Community,
I grew up in a household that embraced political involvement, though my parents often voted on opposing sides of the ticket. Often, I was in charge of watching my little brothers at the polling site, and I remember seeing my mother’s legs sticking out from the bottom of the curtain as she worked through her ballot. Sometimes her foot would tap nervously as she considered each decision.
Election day is upon us, and with it, a certain amount of anxiety about what the future holds. It has been a long season of campaigning, political ads, yard signs, and debates.
We are all weary.
Yesterday we celebrated All Saints Sunday, which is good preparation for seeing voting as more than a civic duty. A recent Plain Dealer editorial described voting as a profound act of shaping the world we wish to live in. In casting a ballot, each of us participates in a legacy built over centuries, where generations before us fought, protested and sacrificed to give voice to their communities. By voting, we honor their struggles, affirming that the direction of our nation, our state and our local neighborhoods is not decided solely by the powerful few but by the collective will of the people.
The editorial quoted the Rev. Theodore Hesburgh, former president of the University of Notre Dame, who said Voting is a civic sacrament. Our great, world-changing example of self-government is now almost 250 years old. Americans stream to roughly 90,000 voting precincts to, in effect, pray — in a secular way — for our country. And regardless of a citizen’s candidate or party, prayer is something America needs.
In the Reformed Church, of which Presbyterians are a part, we are expected to embrace our role in the public sphere alongside Christians of other traditions and people of other faiths. We seek to be made into an ever-closer likeness of God’s beloved community. Voting is important, but the even more important piece for Jesus-followers, will be how we treat one another after the results are in. Will we give up on the other, or will we build community despite our differences? Please join me in praying for our country.
God of all nations, on this Election Day, we pray for our diverse and divided nation.
Like a downed power line, we are charged with anger, anxiety and fear. We wait, thrashing and threatening, as results come in … vote by vote, state by state, seat by seat. God, we fear rioting and violence. God, we pray for justice and peace.
God, be with us. Be with the poll workers, the politicians, the clerks and the deputies. On this long and exhausting day, may our polls be places of courtesy, the dignity of each voter respected. May our polls be places of safety, free of undue influence or intimidation. May our polls be places of freedom, a fair election for all.
God, who can do far more than we can ask or imagine, as the results of this election become clear, turn our country to the hard work of truth-seeking and healing. The sin of enmity looms large among us. May the results of this election bear good, spiritual fruit, opening us to your help and hope. May we seek your wisdom, love your truth and promote your peace this day and every day. Amen.
(A Prayer for Election Day, by Rev. Teri Ott, Presbyterian Outlook)
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