Election Reflection
A week ago, Trinity Cathedral was filled with joy and possibility as 150 first-time-voters from the Cleveland Metropolitan School District rallied and then walked a few short blocks to the board of elections.
Before they headed out, I greeted them and said in my remarks that “I’m not going to tell you how to vote, because that would diminish the dignity of your own choice.” We walked together to the polls, and then we returned to dance and celebrate. It is a moment from this election that I will treasure my whole life, regardless of how I feel about the outcomes of the election itself.
Our nation has now voted, and though there is diversity of perspective in our wider Cathedral and diocesan community, the results are not what many had hoped for. The anti-gerrymandering amendment that we so passionately supported did not pass. Many in our cathedral community fear setbacks to in safety and equality for LGBTQ+ persons. We are saddened to think that systemic racism will continue to be disregarded or even advanced. We are deeply concerned about the dismantling of environmental protections, women’s healthcare, and gun safety measures. We fear the dangers of a world that, locally and internationally, is becoming more violent and more unstable. We grieve that the politics of meanness and misogyny will only amplify a culture of meanness and misogyny.
As a pastor and a parent, but also a person of privilege, my heart is with those who will feel these pains in a way that is immediate and unrelenting.
I also believe that much of the work before us today is the same regardless of who was elected this week: the work of dignity and justice is holy and necessary, but it is also costly and requires much of us.
This work requires humility and strength and the ability to see the struggles and dignity of all our neighbors, including those who voted differently than we did. It requires hope, and above all, the work requires faith. Not faith in a God with all the answers, but faith that the one who created us is with us in moments of fear, in a God who is known in how we love our neighbors and how we serve those in need.
Faithfully,
The Very Rev. Bernard J. Owens