Dear church family,

The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. spoke of “the urgency of now.”  We are in such an urgency, or emergency, today.

As you know, a church cannot legally endorse or oppose a candidate or party, but it can, and I believe if it is faithful it must, serve the Spirit that filled and drove Jesus to be actively engaged in his society on the Spirit’s behalf.

We hosted a series of talks on “What Is at Stake” in this election on four different issue areas: 1. the constitution and rule of law; 2. climate and the environment; 3. the economy; and 4. individual rights.  Each one made clear the enormous difference between the two presidential candidates and parties.

Whatever future nation and world you believe the God who is Love and the Spirit that filled Jesus want to see in each of these issue areas, it is clear that it will be either strongly promoted or forcefully prevented by the outcome of this election.  In some areas, such as the constitution and climate, there could be lasting, virtually permanent change.

I am writing to urge you to use every resource you have—every spare minute, ounce of energy and penny—to work for the outcome you believe is for the best.  This is a moment of greater urgency than any, perhaps, in our entire lives.

My mother read the Narnia books of C. S. Lewis to me when I was a boy, and we would talk about the allegorical and literary meaning.  One of the most important scenes to us both came in the book The Horse and His Boy when the central characters have been sent to warn a nation about an impending invasion.

They can see the invading army in the distance behind them.  Lewis writes, “Both Horses were doing, if not all they could, all they thought they could; which is not quite the same thing.”  Then suddenly they heard the roar of a lion just behind them, and felt its claws, and the Horses found they could go much faster.

The lion was The Lion, Aslan, the Christ-like figure, the bearer of the Spirit like the one that drove Jesus to his extraordinary life of serving and self-sacrificing for the sake of compassion, justice and shalom (meaning peace and the things that make for peace).

I hope you will open to the possibility that the same Spirit is trying to roar and claw and drive you into greater exertion right now, for these next two world-changing weeks.  If you do not know what more you can do, you can go to the website of the party of your choice and easily find opportunities to volunteer, and trainings for how to do it, and there are tasks for all temperaments and abilities.

If nothing else, you can use your voice to share the urgency you feel with your friends and family, and, of course, vote.

Thank you!
Grace and peace,
Tom