Faith leaders from seven Christian denominations gathered to pray for peace during election season on Monday, marking the first time the church community has come together for this purpose.
Catholic Bishop John P. Dolan told the mixed-faith congregation at Our Lady of the Angels Church in Paradise Valley that politics has become too volatile, but they can have “faith over fear.”
“It is so easy for us to be divided. That’s an easy thing to do,” Dolan said. “It’s hard to love; it’s hard to be at peace.”
Dolan asked the congregation to strive for unity by using those positive forces.
“I can argue against an issue until I'm blue in my face and feel very comfortable that I can still, at the same time, love that person that I'm disagreeing with,” he said. “That has not been the case in the last couple of years, and we just need to tone down the rhetoric. … We gotta do it. If we're not doing it, then I don't know who else is going to be able to do it.”
The group of Christian faith leaders gather for dinner every other month and, at their most recent meeting, discussed how to move away from the divisive rhetoric of modern politics.
“Here we were; leaders of different faith traditions, different Christian denominations where we have our differences and our disagreements, and how good it would be to model for the world a different way of living together amidst our disagreements and choose the way of peace?” said Bishop Carlo A. Rapanut with the United Methodist Church.
Rapanut said his main message is for people to keep praying.
“There is an alternative way to what seems to be the way of politics right now, which is partisan, you know, politics and division,” he said. “There is another way. And I think that is what gives us hope.”
An estimated 360 people attend the event. It was the first of three Arizona services to which all are welcome.
Episcopal Bishop Jennifer Reddall was one of the faith leaders in attendance.
“It seems like it's tapping into a need and a yearning among people to come together and have a moment of peace,” she said. “We get so many messages that tell us to be afraid. Be afraid of the other candidate; be afraid of what they'll do. And sometimes those fears are real, but even when the fear is real, we have to lead with faith.”
Reddall hopes there won’t be a need to do this every election season but says that the divisiveness may not die down in her lifetime.
Arizonan Katie Ward attended the vigil, which she heard about at mass the week before.
“I went, ‘Oh my gosh, yes, that's where I want to put all my energy — in finding peace and ways for us all to be one and care for our community and what’s good for our community,’” she said. “My main takeaway is, thank God we’re praying on it, and we’re not talking about one side or the other. We’re talking about peace and working together.”
Shannon Noelle Green was also at Monday’s vigil. She attends Catholic mass and said she’s moderate, but conservative-leaning.
“I just thought it was so awesome that we were bringing all the faith communities together,” she said.
Green said she agrees that Arizona politics has become more hostile, which is evidenced in political TV commercials.
“I feel like every time something good happens for someone, somebody is trying to tear that down and each person is trying to find something wrong with someone else,” Green said. “And I guess that’s politics, but it seems pretty dirty right now, and Arizona’s election seems pretty wild, as well.”
As for the vigil, Green said she just wished it was longer.
The next service will be held Oct.14 in Tucson at Our Savior’s Lutheran Church. The last service takes place Nov. 4 at Sun City Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Sun City.
