The eyes of the nation, the world actually, are on Madison, WI. The demonstrations at the capitol have provoked a national dialogue.
What did your pastor say about the demonstrations at church today? Was it mentioned in the pastoral pray or in the sermon? Or was it mentioned at all? Are you wondering, what would Jesus do? What should we do, as Christian believers?
One person sent this letter to 40 local pastors…
Dear Leaders of the Madison Faith Community,
I am not writing you officially on behalf of any political organization, party, or labor union. I am a PhD student, living in Madison, Wisconsin, and I am writing to you as an individual believer of Jesus Christ.
No doubt you are acutely aware of the turmoil in our city. It is also doubtless that you have members in your congregation of various political or apolitical ideologies. As citizens of the United States, we are all aware of political freedoms and of the separation of Church and State.
I am writing specifically to request that you seriously consider how your faith and understanding of the Gospel relates to the situation in Madison. I am also requesting that you consider how your church can relate to the people flooding into our Capitol, believers and nonbelievers.
Before this week, I personally tried to avoid politics. My first allegiance is to Jesus Christ, not a flag, political party or government institution. However, I believe the situation we are witnessing transcends partisan politics.
My faith implores me to be amongst the people who want their voices to be heard. I believe working and middle class workers of all professions, as stated in the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights, have the “right to form and to join trade unions for the protection” of their interests.
As you know, Milwaukee Archbishop Jerome E. Listecki issued a statement Feb. 16 that came down squarely in favor of workers’ rights. If you are interested, I would be happy to help coordinate a nondenominational statement from churches in Madison. I would also be more than happy to work with any church leaders that would be willing to take initiative on this.
Regardless of whether you agree or disagree with me, please consider how your church might be able to serve and love those of both sides while they are in our Madison community. We can play a pivotal role in trying to keep our city peaceful, and we all have unique opportunities to show the love of Christ to thousands of visitors to our city.
Thank you,
Aaron Dowdall