Reflections by Rev. Joanne Anquist

I think you all have known me long enough to know that my theology and my politics lean a bit left.  (maybe more than a bit!).  I’m also a keen follower of politics, especially American politics – I follow it kind of like a Sport!  However, I’ve had to revaluate my commitment to this pastime.  As you know, this past Monday a new/old president was inaugurated in the United States and a flurry of executive orders have already been signed, reshaping everything from healthcare research, refugee assistance, foreign aid and trans folk recognition.  Each one of these things gives me pause as a follower of Jesus who is committed to walking the path of love.  But I’ve decided that I can’t live with the rage machine that was endlessly fed the last time this President was in power.  I’m gonna have to give up this sport for something less stressful!

I was listening to Youtube Music on the way home the other day. For those who don’t know, you ask google to play one song and then it continues playing more music similar to your first request.  I tend to get a lot of 70s ballads music, because that’s my jam!  A song came on that I hadn’t heard in a long time: We Just Disagree by Dave Mason, and it took me back to those days where it was okay to disagree and still be friends.  Here is a link to the song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h16DmdQvxB0.  It’s a song about old friends who meet up and realize that they’ve drifted apart and they don’t really “get” each other anymore.  The chorus lyrics are:

So let's leave it alone 'cause we can't see eye to eye
There ain't no good guy, there ain't no bad guy
There's only you and me and we just disagree

I would love to go back to those days, when there were no good or bad buys, and all we did was disagree.  I do believe that most of us believe that and have grace to accept those with different ideas and engage in honest conversation with respect.  But I also think, as Christians, we need to be able to discern between what increases love and human flourishing, and what diminishes the ability for each person to embrace wholehearted living.  And that’s not easy in this political climate.  Just ask Bishop Mariann Budde what happens if you ask the most powerful person in the world to have mercy on the ones who are frightened and uncertain.  Suddenly the Gospel is political.

What I have pledged to myself over the next few years is that I will not get caught up in the battles over this policy or that.  That doesn’t mean ignoring what’s going on in the world.  Followers of Jesus should not be naïve.  It does mean that I will breathe more and react less!  It means that my energy will go into small communities of care that are closer to home.  I believe, in times of social upheaval, it is those relationships we forge in community groups and churches and social justice organizations  that encourage love and justice that keep us balanced.  There are those who continue to work to make our city and province a more just society, and I want to encourage them and their work.  

Most of all, I want our communities of faith to be places that can speak truth to power when it is being abused, and also encourage our leaders to consider the ones on the margins when they are enacting legislation and considering policy.  But more than that, my hope is that our congregations can be places of open, respectful dialogue, theologically, politically, socially and creatively.  We are in this together.  We get to carry each other.  There aint no good guys.  There aint no bad guys and we should be free to disagree.