St. Margaret’s Episcopal Church, Emmaus, PA
Reflections on The Season of Pentecost
The Twenty-First Sunday after Pentecost, October 25, 2020
By Rev. Jane Bender
Dear St. Margaret’s Family and Friends,
This week I share with you information from the Episcopal Church National Office, Department of Government Relations, on a resource that has been distributed called “Vote Faithfully Sunday – Oct. 25th”
“VOTE FAITHFULLY SUNDAY”
Observed October 25th as Preparation for Election Day
From the Episcopal Office of Government Relations
https://episcopalchurch.org/files/ogr_vote_faithfully_2020_election_toolkit.pdf
“Cast your vote, not on a partisan basis, not based on your biases, but vote your values. Vote the values of human dignity and equality. Vote the values of the rock on which this country was built. Vote.”
“It is a Christian obligation to vote, and more than that, it is the church’s responsibility to help get souls to the polls.”
-Presiding Bishop Michael Curry
Quotes from the Episcopal Church “Vote Faithfully Sunday” website:
Ephesians 4:31-32:
“Put away from you all bitterness and wrath and anger and wrangling and slander,
together with all malice, and be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another,
as God in Christ has forgiven you.”
John Quincy Adams, 6th President of the United States of America: “Always vote for principle, though you may vote alone, and you may cherish the sweetest reflection that your vote is never lost.”
Bayard Rustin: “If we desire a society of peace, then we cannot achieve such a society through violence. If we desire a society without discrimination, then we must not discriminate against anyone in the process of building this society. If we desire a society that is democratic, then democracy must become a means as well as an end.”
Audre Lorde, Our Dead Behind Us: Poems: “It is not our differences that divide us. It is our inability to recognize, accept, and celebrate those differences.”
Please see below for the Prayers of the People which will be used this coming Sunday from the website “Vote Faithfully Sunday”. I do hope that you are enjoying the taped Service of Holy Eucharist that we are distributing each week. We are bound up with one another thanks to the grace and power of the Holy Spirit. I wish each of you well and pray that you are keeping safe during this time of increasing cases of Covid.
God bless you all, keep you safe, and give you comfort, hope and strength.
Jane+
| Note: Churches, as nonprofit organizations, must follow certain guidelines when participating in elections. Churches may not campaign, openly or otherwise, for or against candidates for public office. IRS guidelines permit houses of worship to involve their members in the political process through education, voter registration, and candidate participation in town halls. |
Prayers of the People “VOTE FAITHFULLY SUNDAY” October 25, 2020
By The Rev. Shannon Kelly, Director Department of Faith Formation, The Episcopal Church
Loving God, creator of this world who is the source of our wisdom and understanding, watch over this nation during this time of election. Help us to see how our faith informs our principles and actions.
Intercessor: God, our creator,
People: Guide us in truth and love.
We give thanks for the right to vote. Help us to hold this privilege and responsibility with the care and awareness it merits, realizing that our vote matters and that it is an act of faith.
Intercessor: God, our creator,
People: Guide us in truth and love.
Guide us through this election as a nation, state, and community as we vote for people to do work on our behalf and on the behalf of our communities. Help us to vote for people and ballot initiatives that will better our community and our world so it may reflect the values Christ taught us.
Intercessor: God, our creator,
People: Guide us in truth and love.
Help us create communities that will build your kingdom here on earth – communities that will protect the poor, stand up for the vulnerable, advocate for those who are not seen and heard, and listen to everyone’s voice.
Intercessor: God, our creator,
People: Guide us in truth and love.
We pray for this nation that is deeply divided. May we come together for the common good and do as you have called us to do – to act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with you through creation.
Intercessor: God, our creator,
People: Guide us in truth and love.
Help us act out of love, mercy and justice rather than out of arrogance or fear.
Intercessor: God, our creator,
People: Guide us in truth and love.
Lord, continue to guide us as we work for the welfare of this world. We pray for places that are torn by violence, that they may know peace.
Intercessor: God, our creator,
People: Guide us in truth and love.
We pray for communities who are struggling with inequality, unrest, and fear. May we all work toward reconciliation with one another and with God.
Intercessor: God, our creator,
People: Guide us in truth and love.
We pray for places that are torn by violence, that they may know peace.
Intercessor: God, our creator,
People: Guide us in truth and love.
Help us to listen in love, work together in peace, and collaborate with one another as we seek the betterment of our community and world.
Intercessor: God, our creator,
People: Guide us in truth and love.
AMEN.
View our Virtual Service on YouTube
(Available 9:00 AM the Day Of and Thereafter)
