By the Rev. Terri Byrd, coordinator of Alabama Cooperative Baptist Fellowship who lives in Hoover.
Our pews and sanctuaries are sacred spaces, not partisan places. My church challenges me to boldly live out my faith. This past Sunday, the choir’s lyrics, the swell of the organ, and the cello’s melody moved me to tears as I worshiped and as I contemplated all that has happened this week and how I as a Christian should respond.
In our gathered religious life, we pray and worship together; we celebrate and grieve together; and we study and serve together...thinking about how God is at work in our lives and in our community. I know that on the same pew where I sit, I worship with friends who may have very different political opinions on issues because of their life and faith experiences.
Therefore, it seems very appropriate to me that the church should truly be a sanctuary from political party division. By avoiding the endorsement of political candidates or parties, religious leaders allow the church pews to be a place for all who come seeking spiritual study, guidance, and fellowship.
Although ministers do and should speak to any and all issues that impact our communities, the mandate of not endorsing candidates and parties is essential to keeping our churches faithfully dedicated to God and God alone. The Johnson Amendment, a provision in our tax code, helps to protect this value.
As 2018 winds down, Congress still has much to do including passing the remaining spending bills to avoid a government shut down on December 7. One difference still being worked out is whether Congress will weaken the Johnson Amendment and open the door for our houses of worship to become avenues for political campaigning and electioneering. Senator Richard Shelby is in a position to protect the beautiful fellowship of my church community and yours by keeping the Johnson Amendment intact.
We have good people with good intentions working on both sides of the aisle for us in Alabama. This is an issue that can unite us. By signing the letter at https://www.faith-voices.org/ I joined more than 4600 faith leaders from all traditions reminding Senator Shelby and other elected officials why the religious community opposes any measure that would weaken the Johnson Amendment and sacrifice the holiness of our places of worship.
We may have differences in what we believe and how we worship, but I think we can all agree that candidates should not be encouraged to use our faith communities for political gain. We enter into our sanctuaries to focus our minds and hearts on God, believing these holy spaces should be free from political endorsement.
Maybe in these sacred spaces, we will continue to be reminded to love our neighbor and to serve each other with compassion...without regard to any political differences.