Let me say off the top: I am hesitant to get political, recognizing, particularly in this role as pastor, how politics so often leads to division. As such, I will never tell you how to vote and I firmly believe church and state should remain separate. That said, as a pastor, I cannot ignore how the political landscape of the US is affecting the mental and spiritual well-being of our own community—let alone those directly impacted by these policies. Over the past two weeks, many of you have shared your unease with me, and I sense a growing heaviness. Every headline seems to bring fresh reasons for concern, uncertainty, and even despair. To simply turn away from it all because “pastors shouldn’t do politics” would be an abdication of the call to engage with the world as it is.

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