Belonging Beyond Politics

Written By Juliet Vedral of The Chapman Group, Jan. 14, 2024

At the start of this politically charged year, it seemed like a good opportunity to reflect on one way that Jesus is showing up in “the swamp,” and how Christians of different political allegiances can create a place of belonging that transcends politics.

My experience is that you can’t avoid the image of God in your neighbor, when you regularly worship and fellowship with people from across the aisle.

One of the unique aspects of going to church in the DC area, is that the Christian world here is a small one. Contrary to what one might think about the area, it’s not unusual to find oneself worshiping next to someone from across the aisle politically. “We see how the sausage is made and we know the people making the sausage,” said Father Morgan Reed, vicar of Corpus Christi Anglican Church in Springfield, VA. Reed started Corpus Christi in the spring and summer of 2020, after working helping to plant Incarnation Anglican Church in South Arlington in 2018 (full disclosure: my family and I have been part of Incarnation since it began). 

Both of these churches were founded during one of the worst times of political polarization our country has faced. And both churches had people with a mix of political alignments that seemed to defy the trend of self-sorting that was taking place in churches and communities around the country. Incarnation began in a unique context, coming on the heels of both the 2015 Supreme Court decision permitting same-sex marriage across the United States, and the 2016 election. 

Read the entire article here.