This entry is part of a series of blogs that connect political volunteering with spiritual themes. These observations come from my current volunteering for a congressional candidate. Today: Final thoughts.
We’re coming down to days now—just a few of them left before Election Day. At this point in this months-long saga, these final thoughts come to mind. About the process and the results.
First, whether our candidate gets elected or not, it’s been worth our time and effort to be part of this campaign. What we hoped for has occurred: Our spirits have not been swallowed up in cynical observations about politics. We’ve worked to strengthen what we considered a worthwhile cause, so a good share of our thoughts and energies have been directed toward positive outcomes. Our hope has not been erased.
If you have followed this series, you’ll remember that this has been a spiritual experience—”worship” in its larger meaning. We’ve connected our faith with our lives, and have come away from these months of work with a sense of fulfillment. We have the satisfaction of knowing that we have been good stewards of God’s gifts to us. Perhaps we understand both politics and theology that much better, maybe in new ways that we would have otherwise not seen.
These written observations have come to mind easily. The ideas and ideals in these blogs popped into place readily because they belonged to our core selves. Choosing the right words took time and effort, but we didn’t have to stretch our imaginations to find the connections between politics and faith.
One of the things that has occurred to us throughout this time is that, no matter how the election turns out, this whole enterprise—helping this country turn back toward its values—is not over. Win or lose, our candidate will need continuing encouragement. Hurts will need healing, stress lessened, calm restored. The ramifications of the election will need sorting out, and turned into political actions. Coming elections may benefit from our skills and faith. We will continue to hold our leaders accountable for any fear, anger, hate or selfishness that they enable.
We hope that these entries have emboldened you to take your place in a political campaign in your locale. And we hope you’ve come to see the same inspirational ways in which God’s Spirit is present in the world around us—politics included!
One more thought: Thanks for spending your time with me during this series. Writing about political volunteering seemed like the right thing for me to do. I hope that you have come to see your own involvement in politics as part of your calling as a follower of Jesus. If that’s true, then both my writing and your reading will have been worth our time!
God keep you joyful!
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