{"id":14308,"date":"2012-11-05T08:25:00","date_gmt":"2012-11-05T13:25:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/?p=14308"},"modified":"2012-11-12T17:12:08","modified_gmt":"2012-11-12T22:12:08","slug":"transcending-and-transforming-politics-on-election-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2012\/transcending-and-transforming-politics-on-election-day\/","title":{"rendered":"UPDATE: Election-Day Communion Sweeping Across Nation"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/em>A CNN blog explaining the call for an election-day communion, written by Mennonite pastor Mark Schloneger (a graduate of EMU’s seminary), has attracted over 3,000 comments and even more “likes.” <\/a><\/p>\n

Nearly\u00a0800\u00a0congregations, schools, and groups in all\u00a050\u00a0states and Washington, D.C., have declared that they are holding an election-day communion<\/a>. Sixty-five of these communions will be in Virginia. The Virginia list includes Baptist, Episcopal, Methodist, and Mennonite churches, including these in the Harrisonburg area: Community Mennonite, Lindale Mennonite, Park View Mennonite, Weavers Mennonite, and Zion Mennonite.<\/p>\n

Election day chapel and communion on campus<\/strong><\/p>\n

At EMU there will be an election-day chapel on Nov. 6 at 11 a.m. in Martin Chapel of the seminary building, with an election-day communion in the evening at 6:30 p.m. in the same location. Brian Gumm, distance learning tech analyst at EMU, has posted an Election Day Communion entry<\/a> to his Restorative Theory blog.<\/p>\n

Mark Schloneger, Kevin Gasser and Ben Irwin, EDC\u2019s organizers, set a target of having 100 participating groups represented from all 50 states. Among the participants are Eastern Mennonite University (EMU) and its seminary<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Building unity out of diversity<\/strong><\/p>\n

Schloneger is a 2005 MDiv alumnus of Eastern Mennonite Seminary and pastor at North Goshen Mennonite Church<\/a> in Goshen, Ind. Four years ago, Schloneger led a communion service on Election Day at Springdale Mennonite Church<\/a> in Waynesboro, Va. The church\u2019s youth group created signs such as “Change You Can Believe In” and “Put the Kingdom First.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe purpose of Election Day Communion is to build our unity in and allegiance to Christ in the midst of theological, political, and denominational differences,\u201d says Schloneger. \u201cSome people misunderstand this campaign by thinking it is a statement that we need to keep politics out of the church so that we can focus instead on what’s really important, but that’s not how I think about it.<\/p>\n

\u201cPolitics belongs in the Church because we are to place all things \u2013 all things \u2013under the Lordship of Jesus. Of course, when we do that, our political passions and practices will look very different.\u201d<\/p>\n

Schloneger\u2019s alternative vision is for \u201cspaces all over the country\u201d where people can come and declare their faith and allegiance to Christ over that of their diverse political beliefs. The leaders stress, however, that the movement is not meant to encourage abstinence from voting or to discourage political involvement.<\/p>\n

‘We as the church, the body of Christ, are called to work together’<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cThe idea for Election Day Communion came from a sense that American politics have become too divisive, particularly within the church,\u201d states Kevin Gasser, a 2008 Eastern Mennonite Seminary grad and pastor of the Staunton (Va.) Mennonite Church<\/a>. The third movement leader, Ben Irwin, is an Episcopalian writer in Grand Rapids, Mich.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Bible is full of teachings and examples of how we as the church, the body of Christ, are called to work together, in spite of our differences, for the Kingdom that Jesus came proclaiming and inviting others to participate in,\u201d says Gasser. In this way, EDC is reaching for ways to bridge the human-made chasms created by politics.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s very scary to mix the church with politics, because depending on which side you\u2019re on, it alienates other people in the church,\u201d said Arlene Weins<\/a>, professor of nursing<\/a> at EMU. She is a long-time voter and chair of a legislative group representing nurses. She has canvassed for political candidates, including for her husband (a member of the Harrisonburg City Council).<\/p>\n

Wiens hopes that Election Day Communion will not replace responsible voting, even though she was raised in a \u201cplain\u201d Mennonite community where everyone was expected to steer clear of politics up to and including not voting. She believes both religious and civic duties are important; however, Wiens has some discomfort when the two are combined in a communion. Furthermore, she believes that the election process is by nature competitive and secular, while communion is a sacred commemoration of the life of Christ.<\/p>\n

Weins says she came to understand the importance of government \u2013 and thus the importance of choosing who guides the government \u2013 when she did some time with Mennonite Central Committee<\/a> in Harlan County, Kentucky, where husband David Wiens, also a Mennonite, worked with those who had substandard housing. It was there the couple saw and experienced overwhelming poverty and the needs of a community.<\/p>\n

Previously, David was employed in Reading, Pa., in child protective services. \u201cMost of the aid for children was either county, state, or federal aid\u2026 that\u2019s who takes care of those people,\u201d she says. \u201cI am in health care, and I don\u2019t know what we\u2019d do without Medicare and Medicaid.\u201d No non-profit or church alone can meet the overwhelming needs of impoverished peoples, she adds.<\/p>\n

Phil Kniss \u201992, MDiv \u201995, fully supports the EDC\u2019s campaign as pastor of Park View Mennonite Church<\/a> in Harrisonburg, Va., for the last 16 years. \u201cWhat I really appreciate about the Election Day Communion is that the emphasis is on the communion, on the Eucharist, on that very tangible symbol of Christ\u2019s broken body and blood. That really in a very symbolic way represents the central reality that we gather around as a church. I can\u2019t think of anything better to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kniss believes that the church represents the political spectrum of the United States; however, despite having people arrayed from one end of the spectrum to the other, the church is still a community of people with ideals shaped by faith and the example that Christ gave of how to relate to one another and how power is used.<\/p>\n

With that in mind, Kniss wants to discourage the division caused by political tension, and keep in mind the idea of allegiance and holding up loyalty to the kingdom.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile these other issues that affect the country are important, what\u2019s most important is that we\u2019ve positioned ourselves properly towards Christ the King.\u201d Celebrating communion is how Kniss believes Christians can redirect their loyalties to Christ as the purest example of a political entity, whose sacrificial love and reconciliation blankets the agendas and transcends political platforms.<\/p>\n

\u201cPolitics are not an excuse for us to stop following Jesus and loving others,\u201d Gasser says. \u201cInstead, I hope we can use this opportunity to be a witness to others of a better way, a better kingdom, and a better King.\u201d<\/p>\n

More information<\/h3>\n

Eastern Mennonite Seminary will host an election day chapel on Tuesday, Nov. 6, at 11 a.m., in Martin Chapel<\/a>. The election day communion will take place at 6:30 p.m., in Martin Chapel<\/a>, hosted by EMU campus ministries<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A CNN blog explaining the call for an election-day communion, written by Mennonite pastor Mark Schloneger (a graduate of EMU’s seminary), has attracted over 3,000 comments and even more “likes.” ... read more about UPDATE: Election-Day Communion Sweeping Across Nation<\/span><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":112,"featured_media":14311,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[266,5583,5185,265],"tags":[8921,14597,10724,9333,6100,17361,6296],"feature":[],"class_list":["post-14308","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alumni","category-campus-community","category-campus-ministries","category-seminary","tag-arlene-wiens","tag-election-day-communion","tag-kevin-gasser","tag-mark-schloneger","tag-mennonite-central-committee","tag-mennonite-churches-and-schools","tag-springdale-mennonite-church"],"yoast_head":"\nUPDATE: Election-Day Communion Sweeping Across Nation - 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