Election Day Communion aims to bridge partisan breach

WASHINGTON — Come to me, all ye who are weary of negative political ads and burdened by the wounds of a brutal campaign season. I will give you rest.

That twist on the call of Jesus from the Gospel of Matthew is resonating this year as more than 400 local churches prepare for a new tradition: Election Day Communion. As voting winds down Nov. 6, people of every political stripe will leave their respective partisan bunkers and line up side by side to receive the sacrament.

“We’ll be saying to people: ‘Look around. There’s probably someone here who voted for the other guy,’” said Justin Barringer, an editor who is helping organize an ecumenical service at a homeless shelter in Lexington, Ky. 

What began in 2008 at Springdale Mennonite Church, Waynesboro, Va., has now snowballed into a movement. Churches representing more than a dozen denominations will host evening services in 46 states. 

The effort reflects the work of young pastors and laypeople — many in their 20s and 30s — who have parlayed a $35 budget into a website: electiondaycommunion.org.

For organizers, Election Day is ideal for remembering the church’s nonpartisan mission: to bridge personal divides, refocus allegiance to God and work for justice beyond the ballot box. But whether the goal is to restore a church corrupted by partisan politics or to help mend a torn nation will depend on local interpretation.

“Our participation in the party system, Democrat and Republican, has caused us to be passionate about things that look very different from the passion of Jesus,” said Mark Schloneger, who led the first Election Day Communion service four years ago and now serves as pastor of North Goshen Mennonite Church, Goshen, Ind. “That’s where I believe we need to repent.”