Coming together as a community

Published in the South Jetty a week before the election. 

What brought you to Port Aransas, and what has kept you here? The original attraction for me was the beauty of nature all around us. The beach and bay; the dunes and night sky. Once we moved here, not all that long ago in 2012, I came to know this amazing community. People helped one another out, residents and visitors supported our youth and still do. I suppose the gift of nature alone would have nourished my soul, but my family and I really stayed because of this amazing community. We feel so fortunate to get to live here, and I understand why people are attracted to spending time here. We were here for five years before Hurricane Harvey and I am grateful for those years of getting to know my church and community so that when we were in the recovery trenches, we could build up from those relationships.  

I value community and relationships because I have found that strong relationships make it possible to not only have fun in the good times, but to solve problems together in the difficult times. When communities are divided, problems tend to worsen.  When you know someone even difficult conversations are manageable with a level of respect. My baptismal covenant asks me to respect the dignity of every human being, which is the goal I strive toward. When I imagine our loving God gazing down at each human heart, it helps me to remember that respect. When I come to know someone, and hear their story my respect grows. I also catch myself making judgements of people before I actually know them; later I often think back to how wrong I was in my assumptions. Everyone has a story that has shaped how they interact with others. 

I am also  fortunate, as a pastor in our community, because I get to see people working together regularly for good. Jesus taught his followers to see and share the Good News, and we as the church seek to live out a witness to Jesus when we work well together. For example, I sat down with a group of moms from our Day School recently as they worked on planning the next Trinity Classic and Turkey Trot fundraiser. I get to see our women's group collect items and put together Christmas stockings and Easter baskets for immigrant children. I see the change the Helping Hands Food Pantry has in our community providing food for those in need. I also get to see a lot of fellowship, since like most churches and religious groups, we love to eat together. 

There have been many recent challenges to our (town/world/state) in recent years. Challenges bring up our defenses and can distract us from the good things happening all around us. I am not ignoring our challenges and the difficult problems we are facing, however I have experienced the difference respectful relationships can have when facing those problems. 

As we elect a new mayor and council members, I'd like to invite you to pray for and prepare your heart to support whomever is elected. We do not have to follow the circus of national politics: demonizing the perceived opponent to the point of making an idol out of our preferred party or candidate. I'd like that idolatry to stop and for us to return to civil discourse and actual conversation. 

As we as a town pray for and prepare to support our elected officials, I'd also like to appeal to those who are elected to work together, and bring the respect deserved of the office you serve. If you are elected I hope you accept the responsibility with humility. If you are not elected, please support those who are. There are many ways to serve and build up our community, raise up our youth, and maintain the strong community we know ourselves to be. 

I would like to invite you to come to the community park to the flag pole near the baseball fields to pray for our elected officials on May 12 at 5:30. We will pray for whomever is elected, our city employees, first responders, our churches, and for our whole town. It will be a prayer for true community. We need to be in this together and humbly ask God to guide us forward. I am an Episcopal priest, but I would like to invite you to participate no matter your religious background or if you have no religion. Let's stand together and open our hearts to the way forward. 

Finally, thank you to all the candidates who have stepped forward to serve: those newly elected and those already in office. I appeal to you on behalf of the community to put a high priority on our relationships. Let us work together to serve our community. Let's be a witness and begin reshaping the future for our children. That sort of shift cannot come from the highest offices. It needs to come from us, from our front yards, in our streets, and as we gather in our community park.