Our special Sunday School class last week to discuss the aftermath of the presidential election drew almost 50 people. We’ll continue the discussion this Sunday, again at 9:30 in the Founders’ Room. Several of you brought friends last week; Tricia encourages you to do so again. Once again, we will be talking about how we respond to the national situation, not as Democrats or Republicans, but as Christians whose first allegiance is to a God whose primary concern is for society’s most vulnerable people.

In Tricia’s sermon Sunday, she noted that since the election there had been more than 200 reported cases of hateful intimidation and harassment. As of Mondaymorning, the Southern Poverty Law Center reported 437 such cases across the country. Two were at Episcopal churches, Church of Our Savior in Silver Springs, MD; and St. David’s in Bean Blossom, Ind. Here is a link to read about these incidents:

http://www.episcopalcafe.com/two-episcopal-churches-vandalized-with-racist-messages/

Here also are links to two articles that you might want to read before Sunday’s discussion. The first is by our former seminarian, Lee Curtis, who is now a priest on staff at the cathedral in Indianapolis. On his blog he writes about a glimmer of hope, standing in solidarity with immigrants: https://thebrokechurchman.wordpress.com/2016/11/13/creemos/

The second article is by the Rev. Gay Clark Jennings, president of General Convention’s House of Deputies (the national church convention has two legislative houses, the House of Bishops, and the House of Deputies, comprised of clergy and lay delegates from each diocese). Jennings writes about the importance of resistance to evil, and cautions against quick shallow reconciliation that ignores the true problems and divides that exist. “Our own limitations do not free us from our promise to resist evil,” she writes. “When the agendas of the president-elect and the new Congress scapegoat people of color and Muslims, deprive our fellow citizens of control over their lives, desecrate God’s creation or enrich the wealthy at the expense of the poor, we must oppose them. This is not a partisan political statement; it is a confession of faith.” The link to the whole article is here:
http://episcopaldigitalnetwork.com/ens/2016/11/15/house-of-deputies-president-why-reconciliation-with-president-elect-trump-may-be-impossible-for-some-christian

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