Courageous Yard Signs

This Great Idea is inspired by this week’s Six New Things – which is a clarion call to get out the vote in support of justice, freedom, democracy, hope, peace, and love.

Many congregations continue to struggle with the legal and moral restraints of church and state separation – while Christian Nationalism threatens our democracy and freedoms.

Certain people who identify as ‘Christian’ have been working for decades to get us to where we stand, right now, politically. Their vision is of a country run by and for ‘Christians’ – who believe as they do. Their agenda is to imprison, deport, or even kill those who oppose them.

Historians – and folx who have lived in fascist-led countries – have been sounding warnings for decades.

Now is the time for action.

It is incumbent upon all of us who identify as Christians (without the ‘nationalist’ agenda) to publicly, courageously, loudly, and repeatedly voice our opposition to Christian nationalism and all the other ‘isms’ and forces that are pushing America toward a fascist or oligarchic rule. This November’s elections will be pivotal for the future of this nation, the human world, and this planet.

Now is the time to find our courage and our voice.

Our young people are begging adults to engage.

So let’s engage together.

Start with Jesus:

  • Read together Luke 4:14-21.
  • Wonder: What is Jesus’ core mission?
  • Wonder: Who needs this good news, today?
  • Wonder: Who might identify as the, ‘poor’, ‘captives’, ‘blind’, ‘oppressed’?
  • Wonder: Where do we fit in Jesus’ first sermon?
  • Discuss: As followers of Jesus, in the midst of this highly divisive and determinant election season, how might we embody this good news for our neighbors and our nation?

[For quick additional reading, see our ‘Blog Posts’ list, below.]

This discussion might be followed immediately by an intergenerational engagement event, such as:

  • Create yard signs (or fliers – see below):
    • ‘Christians for democracy.’
    • ‘Lutherans voting as good neighbors.’
    • ‘Jesus = Human Rights Advocate’
    • ‘We believe in all the rights and freedoms – and we vote to keep them.’
    • Whatever powerful, catchy slogans your group creates.
  • Place lots of yard signs in the church’s yard.
  • Place them in the yards of everyone who makes them.
  • Invite people to offer them to their neighbors – a great dialogue starter and get-out-the-vote campaign:
    • ‘We made these signs at our church. Might we put one in your yard?’
  • Have extras available at the church – so folx who aren’t members but see it on your social media site (or in your yard) – can take some home with them.

Other engagement ideas:

  • Community-Wide Intergenerational Discussion Panel
    • If you want to be really bold, open with John Pavlovitz’s, White Evangelicals Must Lose in November (see Blog Posts, below).
    • Allow space for children, youth, and adults to share their thoughts, hopes, fears, dreams for this election cycle. (You might ‘zoom in’ your college kids or young adults no longer living in your community.)
    • Invite young people to state how they hope adults will vote.
    • Invite adults to state the reasons they will vote the way they will vote.
      • This may become obvious, but they wouldn’t have to identify specifically for whom they will vote.
    • Encourage adults to consider the effects their vote will have not only on themselves and their families, but on the children and future generations of the community and nation.
      • See Pavlovitz’s post for a list of issues, but you might highlight concerns about:
        • The climate
        • Women’s/girls’ rights
        • Racial equity and justice
        • 2SLGBTQIA+ rights
        • Immigration
        • Voter rights
        • The right of dissent
        • Economics
        • Local concerns
    • Conclude the event with an opportunity to register to vote for all citizens 18 and older.

~~~

  • Encourage Eligible Voters
    • See Election Materials, below.
      • Hand out flyers, postcards, etc.
      • Encourage your college students to vote by mail-in ballot, or have a ‘Welcome Home Voters’ reception at your church.
      • Share information about the ballot, the process, voter registration, etc., through a neighborhood engagement afternoon.
    • Be aware of Polling Place Rules:
      • who can be where
      • what can be brought into polling places
      • what can be worn or not worn within specific distances of polling places
      • etc.
    • Pray for fair and safe elections in your community and everywhere.
    • Engage the issue of voting/elections in worship. Find resources here.
      • Follow every worship service and other gathering with voter registration and poll worker sign-up opportunities (Election Materials, below, include QR codes and lost of info!)

~~~

  • Invite community neighbors in for a Courageous and Gracious Conversation
    • Prepare at least a few people with our Graceful Conversation series (see ‘Additional Resources’ below)
    • Discuss the topic of free and fair elections
    • Discuss the tradition/essential democratic principle of a peaceful transferal of power
    • Discuss the 2020 election
    • Discuss election anxiety

~~~

For further discussion – and inspiration for further engagement – please read in age-appropriate groups:

CHILDREN:

  • Lupita’s Brown Ballet Slippers
    • Wonder about Lupita’s intersectional identity as a female Hispanic dancer
    • Explore how innovation can help our work, arts, religious, and social spaces become more aware, welcoming, and affirming of all people.
    • Consider how people of all different identities are pushed even further ‘out’ when personal comfort and fear get in the way of God’s Dream of love for neighbor.
  • Be Who You Are and/or It’s Okay to Be Different
    • Wonder about the importance of affirming each person for who they are.
  • Change Sings and/or For Beautiful Black Boys Who Believe a Better World
    • Wonder about the power of collective action in creating more open, welcoming, and joyful communities for people of all identities.

TEENS/TWEENS

ADULTS

BLOG POSTS (shorter reads; readily accessible to youth & adults):

  • White Evangelicals Must Lose in November – John Pavolovitz
    • A desperate plea from a former pastor who knows what’s coming: I’m not sure Americans really understand what this nation will look like in a few short months if Donald Trump wins this election. I do.
  • Standing Up for Truth – Diana Butler Bass
    • Cites ELCA Council of Bishops’ declaration: “We refuse to accept the ongoing normalization of lies and deceit.”
  • Letter from an American – October 13, 2024 – Heather Cox Richardson
    • ‘Demagogues appeal to a disaffected population whose members feel they have lost the power they previously held, that they have been displaced either religiously, economically, culturally, or politically. Such people are willing to follow a leader who promises to return them to their former positions of prominence and thus to make the nation great again.
      But to cement their loyalty, the leader has to give them someone to hate. Who that is doesn’t really matter…’
  • Ghosts Don’t Vote, But Haunted People Do – Angela Denker
    • A visit to rural Minnesota — and its plentiful Trump signs — brings up memories of grief and loss, and the connection between them all.
  • Don’t Vote for Kudzu! – Walter Brueggeman
    • ‘The parable is an acknowledgement that if good people are solely preoccupied with personal matters, public policy and practice go readily to nefarious forces that are self-serving and self-seeking in their avarice.’

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES and WAYS TO ENGAGE:

  • ELECTION MATERIALS – flyers, posters, postcards, and stickers
    • Voter rights
    • Voter eligibility
    • Poll Worker eligibility
    • How to sign up to help at the polls or register to vote
    • Download from Lutheran Advocacy – Minnesota
  • GRACEFUL CONVERSATIONS: BUILDING ARCS ACROSS DIVIDED PERSPECTIVES
    • 5 session workshop series with videos, worksheets, and a facilitator guide
    • Created in partnership with Tammy Walhof, Director of Lutheran Advocacy – Minnesota
    •  Develop skills to make Graceful Conversation and Action part of our core being.
    • Incorporates teachings from Braver Angels.
    • Geared specifically to congregations through a faith lens.
    • Available free from The Ministry Lab and Lutheran Advocacy-Minnesota
  • RECLAIMING BONHOEFFER
    • Bonhoeffer’s teaching, writing, and faithful living are being distorted and misappropriated by people promoting Christian Nationalism.
    • The Bonhoeffer film being released November22 is the creation of conservative nationalist supporters.
    • Lutheran Advocacy Ministry of Pennsylvania and the Bonhoeffer Institute created a multi-session Bonhoeffer Curriculum at this link.
    • A donation of $200 is suggested for use of the curriculum to reimburse the primary writer and Bonhoeffer Institute.