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I'm a Minister, I'm Not an Oxymoron - Voting

In this heated season (political, race relations, environmental issues, women's rights and the list goes on for way too long), I feel the need to proclaim that I'm a minister and I'm not an oxymoron.

I do not preach my political views from the pulpit - you will never hear me say you should or should not vote for a certain candidate and I refuse all of the "helpful pamphlets" that will help my congregation decide who to vote for - it is also not hard for people to figure out that I am more aligned with one of the major political party than another. Living in a small town, people recognized my car at my designated caucusing site, and once that hit the town's gossip circuit everyone knew my business. And once everyone knew my political affiliation the comments began - "you can't possible be a minister and be a (political party) member." Not only is this no one's business and I have the right to vote as I choose, no it is not impossible to be a person of faith and vote for any political party.

While I may not like the fact that religion gets dragged too far in the political process, I will argue that faith will always be a factor in voting. What I read, study and understand about the call of God will shape how I choose to vote. If I take seriously that people of faith are to care for the poor, orphaned, sick, widowed, homeless, refuge, the "other" - then I believe it is important to pass legislation and initiatives that will address those concerns. When I vote, I take all of those things into consideration and decide who I believe has the best policies to achieve more of the "kin-dom" of God here on earth. This means I generally lean more towards one party than another, but for others its the exact opposite. This is not to say that either of us is right or wrong, its just a different way of trying to achieve an end goal. Experiences will play a factor in these decisions because they shape how we see the world and they effect how a person understands their faith.

So my dear town people and others who would like to say that you can't be a Christian and/or minister if you vote a certain way, I am not an oxymoron. I am not some grand contradiction. I am a faithful person, doing their civic duty, who happens to have responded to God's call in my life and became a minister. I am doing my best to live out my faith and bring about change that I believe will help myself and others. So please stop being so concerned about how I'm voting and fueling the gossip circles and go out and make the world a better place by living out your faith and making your piece of the globe a little bit better.

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