Dear Church Family,
               I recently read an article by Tish Harrison Warren which expressed her concern that God is being used in  increasingly political ways  in our polarized society.  The article, “The God I Know is Not a Cultural Warrior,” is well  worth reading.  Here is the link https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/14/opinion/god-culture-war-politics.html.
               She argues that people’s experience of faith is far more personal, rich, important and meaningful than can be summed up in our political sparring.  Too often in our world God is being used as a weapon in our culture wars, to bring God on the side of our position on gun violence, climate change, abortion, voting rights, the teaching of racial history, defense strategies and the like.  She quotes Stephen Carter, a favorite of mine who teaches law at Yale and who has written much about the role of religion in public discourse.  He laments the “disingenuous of so much religious discourse in politics, which tends to cheapen our spiritual lives, beliefs and experiences.”  God is used to score points or grandstand. 
               The God most of us experience in worship and church life doesn’t just show up when we are fighting about something.  This God is not one of cultural division and bickering, but is a source of meaning, joy, and celebration who encourages us to nurture virtues like kindness, gratitude, humility, self-control, qualities in short supply in our political discourse.   
               Certainly, faith touches all areas of  life, including those issues which divide us.  But surely it makes a difference how we go about arbitrating those differences.  God is not a power to be manipulated, but the Lord who brings all our judgments under his judgment and mercy.
               We’ll be exploring some of these themes  on Sunday as we consider the first petition of the Lord’s prayer, “thy kingdom come, thy will be done.”  The sermon is “Prayer and Providence.”  The texts are 2 Kings 20:1-6 and 1 Peter 2:4-12.
               See you in church.
Peace and Joy,
Rich