This Week from Mitch

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I hope and pray that you are well! It probably comes as no surprise that I was never much of a Charlie Kirk fan. He made his fortune on "owning libs" while peddling many ideas that I found to be deeply misogynistic, homophobic, and dangerous. In the world of rage-bait politics, he was a political powerhouse and highly effective. In many ways, Charlie Kirk did what others before him never could: he made the farthest right positions seem mainstream. For this, I profoundly disagreed with him. At the same time, though, all accounts say that Charlie Kirk was a loving father and husband. He was a Christian, and therefore a sibling in Christ. As such, it is important to offer our sincere thoughts and prayers for him and those who loved him, as well as those whom he loved. Please know I have prayed for him and his family, and will continue to do so. I also in this prayer, join with faith leaders from around the country in once again unequivocally condemning political violence. The freedom to debate, exchange ideas, and disagree without threat or fear of violence is essential to our democracy and the democratic process.

From attempts on President Trump's life to democratic lawmakers being killed in Minnesota to this most recent assignation, political violence seems to be rising at the same rate as the extremist rhetoric that spurs it on. This is not who we are called to be as an American people, and yet it seems to be where we are. As Christians, we are to remember that we are called on to "love our neighbors as ourselves." As Americans and Christians, I believe it behooves us at St. Martin's to remember that we are all neighbors. At the same time, while we recognize our neighborly connections, sadly, we are also reminded that we also need to pray for the students of Evergreen High School in Colorado, who, in that neighboring state, just an hour after the assassination of Charlie Kirk, faced the terror of yet another school shooting. As Christians and as Americans, I believe, as I have for a long time, that thoughts and prayers are not enough. St. Martin's, we must work together to end the epidemic of Gun violence. 

I am at this moment both scared and saddened by the climate at hand. The rhetoric needs to be turned down, and also the anger that many Americans feel needs to be acknowledged. Our leaders do not want to do this, and so it has to start with you and me. How we talk and communicate with each other, particularly in the midst of disagreement, matters. How we respond to violence matters. How we talk about people different from ourselves matters; the memes we use and how we engage the algorithms that dictate what we see matter. And how we debate matters. Fighting for one's point does not need to end in the vilification and dehumanization of the other, because when it does, violence almost always enters into the equation. As Christians, dehumanizing anyone is simply unacceptable. We need to be better.

Each year at Christmas, the Church universal reminds us of our duty as followers of the newborn king to pray for peace. Peace on Earth, and Goodwill to all is more than a toast at New Year's time, it's more than a verse in a Christmas song. It is rather a call from the Angels to the shepherds about what the coming of Jesus means. For us, this portion of Luke 2 should be our goal. We must work for peace, and we must be a people of love. It's been the call of our faith since the very beginning. May we remember the words of Michael Curry, "If it is not of Love then it is not of God," and may we seek that love always.

In Christ,

Mitch