Today, in this moment, I have spent the waking hours in constant prayer. I am keenly aware of the divisions in our country - a cold civil war erupting before us today across our nation. I also found myself weeping because I have friends on each side of that line - officers, service men and women, civil protestors, and the deported. I have fellow bishops who are unsure what to say, while others speak out, and still others disagree and support the quiet and the silenced.
We face a moment of profound moral reckoning. Violence has erupted against duly elected leaders, and democratic institutions tremble under the weight of armed might. We see citizens deported, families shattered, and fear parading through our streets dressed as power.
As Christian leaders, we do not stand apart—we stand within this moment, compelled by our faith to act with encouragement, faith, and hope. The Barmen Declaration comes to mind in this hour of prayer.
1. Jesus Christ Alone Is Lord
I reaffirm and call you with the Barmen Declaration and as attested by the creeds to affirm: “Jesus Christ, as he is attested to us in Holy Scripture, is the one Word of God which we have to hear and which we have to trust and obey in life and in death.” No government, no ideology, no party can claim ultimate allegiance. Where human institutions demand what belongs to Christ alone (human and communal dignity), we must resist.
2. We Reject False Teachings of Nationalism as Gospel
I reaffirm and ask you to affirm that we must reject the false doctrine that the church must serve the state or that God's will is revealed through the dominance of one people over another. The state is accountable to God, and when it acts unjustly—deporting the innocent, silencing dissent, overcoming a state's duly elected leadership, and weaponizing patriotism—we must call it to repentance.
3. I Remind Us of Convivial Christian Citizenship
I remind us that our identity as Christians must take precedence over our identity as citizens. Our allegiance to God's kingdom compels us to act with love, courage, and justice in our civil society. We call Christians not to apathy but to prophetic engagement. First, with each other and then within our communities.
4. We Stand With the Vulnerable
Scripture is clear: God stands with the oppressed, the foreigner, the orphan, and the widow. So must we. Deportations of people here legally and citizens, along with military aggression against civilians, are contrary to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
5. We Call the Church to Courage
Like the confessing church at Barmen, we must be willing to lose favor, to risk safety, and to stand apart if that is what obedience requires. Let our churches not be silent in their actions that serve the people on the line who are God's people. On this Sunday and in the Sundays to come, all God's people, all, will look to you for a word of faith.Let our pulpits not lend power to the politics of any side by speaking and seeking to take sides, but instead let us double down on God's word and echo the truth: Christ alone is Lord.
