2024 Election

Dear Epiphany Church Family,

 We live in a highly anxious and polarized time.  The election season in our country has only intensified these and many other feelings.  Living in one of the 7 “swing states” means that the polling for the Presidential election is too close to call.  Because of that, we have been bombarded with even more commercials, text messages, mailings, and other communications than usual. 

 Our partners at the North Carolina Synod Office are offering an Election Eve Prayer Service on Monday, November 4, 7 pm, by Zoom.  I invite you to attend this service and pray for peace, wisdom, and unity in God’s church.  To receive the Zoom link, register at this website. 

 While I will never tell you who to vote for, I want to strongly encourage you to exercise your right to vote in the upcoming election.  Engaging in civil processes like voting is a way to live out your Christian discipleship. 

 Over 120,000 people in Forsyth County have joined 3 million North Carolinians in voting in this year’s election.  Saturday, November 2 is the final day of early voting.  Here is a list of early voting sites throughout Forsyth County.  Every vote counts! 

 If you can’t vote in the early voting process, you can find out the location of your voting precinct to vote on Tuesday, November 5.  Go to this website to find your precinct. 

 In addition, please note that you will be asked to present a photo id.  For more information about this requirement, please see this website from the State Board of Elections.  

 Earlier this fall our Adult Encounter: Faith Sunday School class welcomed the Rev. Dr. Anthony Bateza, the co-chair of a draft Social Statement called Civic Life and Faith.  In our denomination, Social Statements are teaching and policy documents for significant social issues.  While this Social Statement is a draft, I want to close with this helpful quote from the document: 

“Civic life entails activities and institutions across all public life, from one’s local neighborhood to matters of national and international concern. Participation in civic organizations comes in many shapes and sizes, and the recent decline of civic participation in the United States is especially troubling. Our church affirms that anyone who seeks the community’s well-being through civic participation is, knowingly or not, using the gifts God provides. They are acting as channels of God’s concern for human life.” 

-Draft of Civic Life and Faith, page 5. 

 Yours in Christ,

Pastor Russell