ACROSS THE LINES - Archive (2006-2020)

O God, we, who are Christians and call the United States home, confess that ours is a deeply divided nation. We witnessed the peaceful transition of political power this weekend, but many of us are deeply concerned for the future of our democratic institutions. We inaugurated a new President, yet many of us are deeply mistrustful of him. Many of us protested, and as we did many others of us took offense. We gathered and marched this weekend, O God, but we did not gather and march together. Hear our prayer. Help us, O God, to heal the wounds and divisions that run through our nation, our neighborhoods, places of worship, and families. Stir up in us a new depth of care and concern for friends and loved ones who marched when we were resting, who rejoiced when we were downcast, who are lining up even now on different sides of the causes we care deeply about. Help us stick with relationships marked by strong differences of opinion, so long as these relationships do not cause us harm.

On January 21, the day after Donald Trump’s inauguration as President, I will march in the   Women's March   here in San Diego. I want to explain why.   Like many pastors,  I  feel conflicted because the people I serve are profoundly divided when it comes to politics.  At the (mostly white) congregation where I serve on staff, some people are pleased with the outcome of November's election, others are apprehensive, still others are genuinely upset.   Meanwhile, at   El Faro: the Border Church , the unique community I convene on the US-Mexico border, almost everyone finds Mr. Trump’s election deeply distressing, especially that he won while  vilifying Mexican immigrants  and threatening to implement policies that would  disrupt millions of families .  Finding myself pulled in many directions,  I am trying to respond with integrity to the division that characterizes both our public landscape and my own pastoral predicament.     I  am not seeking to sow further division; ra