Vote with Love: Vote Tripling Pledge

For most of us, evangelizing probably isn’t very high on our list of priorities day to day. Yet sometimes, our respect for other people’s faith beliefs, or non-belief, can prevent us from talking about or thinking about our faith in the public square, causing us to miss opportunities to impact and support our communities.

There is no aspect of our lives that is untouched by our faith. The spirit of God doesn’t stop at the church doors, but rather the Spirit goes with us and is ready to guide us when we are at a crossroads. As such, we are guided by the Holy Spirit and God to vote in line with our faith values and hold our representatives at all levels of government accountable to the welfare of all humans in the U.S. and beyond.

When it comes to answering the call of God and voting, it’s easy to feel apathetic about the process, to be busy throughout the day, and not feel prepared to research all the candidates. Yet by not voting, and by not sharing why you vote with others, you give opportunity to those with exclusionary values to have an outsized influence on elections and policy that ultimately impacts all of us.

When we proclaim to be a Just Peace denomination, an Accessible to all, WISE, and Open and Affirming community, a Creation Justice church, and a place of welcome to immigrants and all God’s children, these values extend to the polls. These proclamations call us to show up and encourage those around us to do likewise. There is a call within our faith to speak about our values, to share the joy that is Jesus. And we can do this in ways that are not condemnatory of other faith backgrounds or people’s choices. You don’t have to campaign for anyone or tell others how to vote. You only need to let those around you know that their voice matters and that their faith deserves to be lived out in every aspect of their lives, including the democratic process.

While voter turnout has been at a hundred year high in the last three elections, Pew found that only 46% of eligible voters exercised their right to vote in 2022. How many of these people were voting with their faith? How many people of faith did not exercise their voice, and their vote? Were you one of them? This year, pray and allow the Holy Spirit to take hold and let you speak the word of God boldly by committing to vote in the 2024 elections and getting two of your community members or friends to vote with you. If you need help registering to vote or learning where your polling station is, visit the UCC’s Our Faith Our Vote Civic Action Center here that has all the resources you need.

God made you fearfully and wonderfully. In this election season, allow God to also help you speak boldly and invite others to do the same. Join the UCC’s vote tripling campaign today!

After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly. Acts 4:31