Staying grounded in faith is key when politics collide

For the Rev. Greg Allen-Pickett, purple means more than red and blue political stripes coming together. 

“What’s the color we use during the seasons of Lent and Advent?” he asked at the beginning of “Purple Church, Red State: Navigating Stewardship in an Age of Polarization.” He has authored a book by the same name. 

These are the seasons in which we are most focused on the identity and ministry of Jesus Christ, he said, and this can overcome a great deal of division.

He presented the workshop at Stewardship Kaleidoscope in Baltimore on Tuesday. The annual conference is presented by the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Allen-Pickett is senior pastor and head of staff at Lake Grove Presbyterian Church in Lake Oswego, Oregon. 

Allen-Pickett’s former congregation was in Hastings, Nebraska, a geographically isolated town in a red state with a “purple” membership including folks affiliated with the small Presbyterian-related Hastings College and with a federal research facility. When he arrived, he had to do some reconciliation work due to changes made by an interim pastor and a congregational split over calling a new pastor based on the candidate’s stance on LGBTQ issues. 

“One of the ministries that really brought the church back together after this was a simple sack lunch packing ministry,” he said. “It turns out that if your hands are sticky with peanut butter and jelly because you’re feeding hungry children, it’s really hard to be angry and polarized about things.”

He also recalled a proposal to display an “In God We Trust” sign at the county courthouse. A member of the county board of supervisors, who was also a member of the church, pressed Allen-Pickett for help in getting it passed. 

“Ultimately I said: The place we should be teaching about God and trust is the church and the family, but not the county courthouse. He left a little frustrated with me,” he said. 

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Allen-Pickett also received a call from another church member whose husband was a veteran and an atheist. She said: “He fought for our freedoms, including our freedom from religion, and he should not have to be exposed to ‘In God We Trust’ every time he goes in there to pay his license tags or property taxes.” 

The opposition of these two played out in the local press, and both were identified as members of the church. Eventually the two sat down in Allen-Pickett’s office. The board of supervisors member was able to express his perspective to the veteran’s wife, and she was able to express her perspective to him. 

Ultimately, the sign went up at the courthouse, Allen-Pickett said, but “do you know how effective it is to know you’ve actually been heard?”

It’s vital to frame conversations biblically and theologically, focus on shared mission and preach on hope, he said before asking participants for their thoughts. 

A Presbyterian pastor from South Carolina said a few members of her church have been upset with the General Assembly. “Every two years, we go through this. I put people in the room together and offer an opportunity to theologically wrestle with what Scripture says about the matters. The most hopeful piece was two elders who saw things different directions, and they went to lunch together. They've been meeting together every two weeks. It just made me think it's about relationship, and I'd rather have a relationship than be right.”

A Lutheran pastor in Minneapolis said she offers space for conversation, but asks participants to sign a covenant agreeing to “not come into the space expecting to hear something to be able to report someone to ICE. Signing your name on a covenant encourages healthy, safe conversation.”