Today is the day after "the day" in American politics. We've voted and most of those votes have been counted. If you hadn't noticed I fell silent for some time - Facebook statuses became fewer and more far between and I haven't blogged in weeks. Why - because I felt that I couldn't be responsible for putting out any other message at a time when there were so many messages being shoved down our throats as a society. Whatever side you align yourself with, I think we can agree that we were targeted by ads, status updates, news feeds and conversations. It made my brain turn to mush. It made my head and more importantly my heart hurt. I know we are a broken world. My profession I'm trained in is based on that there is need for healing in this world. However, I felt that we, American society, have gone to a new low. No one truly won in this mess of a political system. I admit we need some form of government and I'm thankful I have the freedom I do have. However, the way we interact with each other, the way we speak of "the other" is more troubling then any political platform I heard. So I pray that now that votes are calculated and the ads stop running that maybe American society can go back to trying to be a world leader - to trying to make a real difference in the world and at home. Maybe we can try to like "those people" who are different then us. I hope and I pray.
For years now, I have heard in preaching and clergy circles about being political in sermons; the good, the bad and those who state that church shouldn’t be political. There are workshops, books, and podcasts talking about politics in the church with a variety of opinions. What do people mean when they make the statement that the church shouldn’t be political? The IRS has the most say about the rules for the separation of church and state/politics. If your church wants to be tax exempt, there are rules: don’t endorse any candidate or party, if you allow one party to use your space, other political parties also must be allowed to use the space, etc. The UCC’s general counsel, Heather Kimmell, has a webinar on this topic if you’d like to hear a more detailed explanation which can be found on the UCC’s YouTube channel. Churches have gotten “creative” in how to get around this, often partnering with another non-profit group to give support to a particular group. The UCC is proud to claim...
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