We were recently blessed with the attendance of United States Congresswoman Katherine Clark at our worship service and at a post-worship forum that followed.  

I think all of us were enriched by this time of worship and dialog.  Rep. Clark shared her own faith journey and spoke to the importance of being grounded in faith-values of inclusion and compassion as our starting points of civic involvement.  

She also spoke of the challenges of her role in the U.S. Congress.  The current climate in Congress, she shared, is not just one of division but one of hostility.  Finding common ground is now harder than it ever has been; even with Republican representatives with whom she had been able to work with in the past.

In this election year, Rep. Clark gave us a faith-based call to get involved that I want to make sure we all heard that call.  The tension, hatred, and vitriol of our present political climate won’t solve itself.  It won’t go away if we look away.  The ship will only turn in a more hopeful direction if we steer it that way.  

That means getting engaged with issues and people to raise the bar of civility and constructive dialog.  Even if people on “the other side” are not interested in finding common ground, our positive attitudes and compassionate actions make all the difference.  Why?  Because they magnify God’s presence of restoration and new life in the midst of it all.

That divine presence is felt primarily through people of faith like us who take our faith seriously and who are anchored in God’s call to live out the radical inclusion, healing, and possibility that Christ offers.

Only then can we make manifest the truth that light is stronger than shadow and love is stronger than hate.

See you in church,

–Rev. Dominic