The explanations for the election results are less relevant now than are strategies for moving forward with wisdom and courage. In this polarized nation, churches are one of the few places where Trump and Clinton voters not only inhabit the same space but have reason to communicate with one another. They sing in choir together, serve on committees together, feed the hungry together, take communion together. Congregations are also places where people have a divine mandate to take each other seriously enough to argue about the things that matter.
With the election itself over, congregations are in a position to launch conversations on issues—on how to make health care affordable, create a fair immigration system, understand Islam, or protect voting rights, for example. In doing so, they can do something to foster respect for each other’s stories and skills in civil conversation—things the nation sorely needs.
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