Responding Faithfully to the Election

After a difficult election day, we were grateful to have our established worship Zooms and patterns of pastoral care. We chatted, ordered dinner via GrubHub, and remembered our baptisms while we continued to hear news of those working tirelessly to count votes and report results. And this week, after the race was called, we were glad to be able to participate in an online "town hall" with other UKirks for reflection, hosted by a couple of our alumni, Lee Catoe and Jessie Light. The panel included Christian Brooks, from the Presbyterian Church's Office of Public Witness in D.C., and Guthrie Graves-Fitzsimmons, who has written a book on faith in politics. Students and friends of UKirk were able to ask important questions like, "what should we do if our understandings of the election vary differently from our families?" These are the types of questions that don't have obvious answers, but it was helpful and hopeful to hear from professionals and students!

If you are looking for additional help as you process this election season, please don't hesitate reach out to Lindsey via email, campusminister@ukirknashville.org, or to one of the counseling centers on campus. If you weren't able to participate in the town hall or you'd like to watch again, the recording can be found here: https://fb.watch/1HJV2dxM7V/

For more information about the PC(USA) Office of Public Witness, where Christian serves as the Representative for Domestic Issues, go to: https://www.presbyterianmission.org/ministries/compassion-peace-justice/washington/

For more on Guthrie's book, Just Faith: Reclaiming Progressive Christianity, go to: https://www.broadleafbooks.com/store/product/9781506462523/Just-Faith