Dear friends,

The results of the US presidential election have many from our community feeling worried or worse. There may be some who are happy with the outcome. I haven’t heard from them yet. I have heard concern and fear.

Our tradition teaches that the God we worship today and will into the new year, after inauguration, is the same God we have followed for over two millennia – a God of love, of peace, of justice; a God who creates and promises new life, for eternity. God will continue to equip us, to love us, to show us a path to the promised kin-dom.

And yet the worry is real. Some from our community are worried for their family or friends already living on the margins in the US--will they be safe? Some from our community are worried about the possibility of eroding rights--will some be pushed to the margins? What will happen to the planet? Will there be major conflict?

I recall in 2016 when the US first elected a president whom I believed lacked moral character. There was little in him I admired. I believed the news media when they  advised us to brace for world war, or ecocide, or a mass of displaced persons. During the four years that followed, many did see their quality of life decline, but nothing like the scale at which we were warned would happen. I take heart in that memory. True, things are different this time, but I do not believe they have shifted that dramatically. I do not believe Americans are hateful; I do not believe Americans want war; I do not believe destruction is on the horizon. I do believe the man elected president has a propensity to elicit hate when we actually need compassion and respect. Often, our fear is carefully constructed for somebody else's gain. Fear drives "clicks" and "likes", which are profitable for some. We must always search for the truth, even when it is convoluted and twisted. We must remember that love overcomes injustice every time.

I cannot offer assurance that the fears I'm hearing are misplaced. But I can assure you that we, as a community, will remain on the lookout for eroding rights and we will resist that erosion. I assure you that we will continue to deeply desire to know one another, especially across political divides. I assure you that we will hear your worries and we will face them together, with God.

I invite you, when you see someone relieved by the outcome, to enter a mode of curiosity, to truly understand. Canada's federal election will be slightly less divisive on account of viable third parties, but the division that our cousins to the south experience now is also in our midst. Let us practice building bridges of understanding, even while staying true to our values and to God's promise of a kin-dom ruled by no person, but rather by peace, love, and justice. New life always comes.

Yours in Christ,
REV. GREG POWELL
Minister

James Bay United Church
greg.powell@jamesbayunited.com
250-304-9316

We acknowledge that we are occupying unceded land of the Coast Salish, Lekwungen people who have been sustained in body, mind and spirit through their relationship with this land for thousands of years.

from Carrie on her facebook feed today:

This song was written after a conversation with my friend Parker J. Palmer. Something politically devastating had happened in my home state. I asked him, “What can we do when we are personally or politically heartbroken?” He wrote me a beautiful message saying that there are times when we march and take action. But there are also times when we take sanctuary.

This song brings me to tears every time I listen. I hope you are comforted by it too.

Gordon Miller