Gettysburg community members came together on Presidents Day for an interfaith gathering at the Chapel of the Gettysburg Lutheran Seminary, with the intent to name and grieve the nation’s current losses, and to gather strength for “working toward the common good” during current troubling times.
The Vigil for Democracy featured “Stations of our Grief” which included the losses of US human rights; loss of the rule of law, of ethical governance, creation care, and the constitutional separation of powers. Speakers included local faith leaders Judy Young, retired United Methodist pastor; Reverend Dr. Martin Otto-Zimmann of The United Lutheran Seminary; Pastor Andrew Geib of St. James Lutheran Church; Reverend Jim Strader-Sasser of Prince of Peace Episcopal Church; Reverend Christian Schmidt of the Unitarian Universalists of Gettysburg, as well as Pat Shoap, retired lawyer and member of the UUG.
Otto-Zimmann welcomed the participants and reminded them that the call to resist expressions of fascism both here and abroad constitutes a marathon, not a sprint. “This land here is consecrated… by the blood of those Union soldiers who fought against the wrongful enslavement and exploitation of people who were created in God’s image. We, too, are called to stand against oppression of those … who face discrimination and harassment in our current conflict, so that Lincoln’s new birth of freedom can be fully realized in our lifetime,” he said.
Reverend Christian Schmidt also referenced Lincoln’s speech: “It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us… that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom.” Such freedom, said Schmidt, cannot exist outside of the presence of human rights and the acknowledgment of the inherent worth and dignity of all people. Schmidt warned that the idea of human rights is currently under attack. He proposed that there will always be those who want to convince us why “a certain group of people is less than, or why some are less deserving of others.” Those people, he suggested, often think that “everyone having rights means they, themselves, will somehow have fewer rights – or less power, wealth, or influence. Whatever the differences between us, they are nothing compared to our shared humanity. And affirming the rights of all doesn’t take something from me; on the contrary, it enriches and empowers us all.”
Geib addressed the current loss of ethics in our country’s governance, pointing out the current abuses of the privilege of government. “Government OF the people has come to be seen as distant and oppressive,” Geib stated. “Government BY the people has come to be seen as increasingly controlled by a small minority of elites. [And] Government FOR the people has come to be seen as unjust in who benefits and who pays.”
Geib further emphasized the importance of well-founded principles of right and wrong that are now under attack, such as equal protection under the law; due process; protection of individual rights; life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; and religious freedom. He further listed examples of unethical conduct, such as “child sex trafficking; protecting the powerful while persecuting the powerless; starving the poor, while feeding the rich; and deeming people as less than because of the color of their skin or where they came from; because of how they identify or who they love.” Geib further reminded the audience that we are called to care for and serve ALL the created world out of love of neighbor. A government becomes evil when it fails to do so, he said, “when it functions as a vehicle for harming the neighbor instead of caring for them.”
Attorney Pat Shoap addressed the grave loss of Rule of Law which, she emphasizes, “is the foundational principle that says that everyone – including government officials and ordinary citizens – must follow and be accountable to an established set of laws, rather than the arbitrary decisions or whims of those in power.” Shoap listed various examples of current violations of the rule of law, including the arbitrary arrest or persecution of people based on who they are or what they believe; the DOJ’s refusal to investigate corruption of various government officials, and the department’s willful investigation into citizens, senators and U.S. representatives who insist on following the rules of law.
Within the DOJ, Ms. Shoap voiced her concern about the dismantling of divisions such as the public integrity section, the civil rights division, etc. and the firing of long established subject matter experts and attorneys who refuse to commit unlawful acts. With reference to the pardons granted by the President to nearly 1,600 people convicted or charged with offenses related to the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol, Ms. Shoap noted, “While Presidents have unfettered power to grant pardons, it is assumed that they will do so in good faith and with deliberation. Absent good faith, trust in the rule of law erodes.”
In addition, Ms. Shoap gave examples of constitutional limits currently being challenged by President Trump; multiple instances where the Administration simply failed to follow court orders; as well as VP J.D. Vance, an attorney himself, posting that “judges aren’t allowed to control the executive’s legitimate power.” “This is the ultimate danger to the rule of law,” she cautioned. Some legal scholars have warned that the Trump Administration actions may constitute “the most severe attack on the rule of law in our country since the Civil War.”
Pastor Judy Young, one of the organizers of the event, addressed the current loss of the Constitutional Separation of Powers; the checks and balances created by three co-equal branches of government, the Legislative, Executive, and Judicial. “This system was established to prevent tyranny, by ensuring that no single entity holds all the power,” Rev. Young explained. She further elaborated on the new theory established/followed by the Supreme Court, called the “Unitary Executive,” creating an all-powerful president, which is the exact opposite of the legal constitutional separation of powers.
Rev. Young listed examples of formerly independent agencies losing their independence; lower courts who follow the constitution simply being overruled by the Supreme Court; and Congress itself giving up its power to the theory of the Unitary Executive, allowing the President to take control of the Power of the Purse. Another grievance Rev. Young pointed out was the administration’s dismantling of USAID, which had been created by Congress, and whose withdrawal of its aid now has left millions falling into starvation around the world and has removed an important part of the US farm economy.
Rev. Jim Strader-Sasser spoke of our duty to be good stewards of Creation and challenged the audience to visualize humanity’s short existence in the universe, highlighting how insignificant our timeline is in the context of cosmic history. “The Universe is 14 billion years old,” he said, “a distance of 4.3 miles (on one model of universal history). The length of humanity’s time on that model (beginning with the discovery of fire) measures about 3 inches. Every person who has existed that we have heard of has existed in less than the last centimeter’s space.”
Father Jim highlighted the current administration’s acting like “bulls in a China shop” with respect to the care of our planet. “The administration has withdrawn from 66 international bodies, conventions, and treaties, including the Paris Agreement,” he pointed out. As people of faith, he encouraged, we should act upon our reverence for God’s Divine creation of the world and universe we live in. “We have prophetic capacity to advocate for our environmental values, [and] personal and communal responsibilities to be present in our spheres of influence locally and more broadly.”
After singing the hymn “Let Streams of Living Justice”, the congregants were invited to visit the various meditation stations set up for each of the griefs addressed. On note cards, the participants wrote out prayers and concerns regarding each individual grief. To conclude the ceremony, the congregants gathered in a circle, holding lit candles, and singing the old Zulu hymn “We are Marching in the Light of God.”
Reverend Dr. Otto-Zimmann sent the congregation off with a Franciscan Blessing praying for God to bless us with discomfort at easy answers, half-truths, and superficial relationships; with anger at injustice, oppression, and exploitation of people; with tears to shed for those who suffer pain, rejection, hunger and war; and with enough foolishness to believe that we can make a difference in the world. For us to work for justice, freedom and peace and comforting others. And, per the Reverend, to get “in good trouble.”
Pictures depict speakers Christian Schmidt, Martin Otto-Zimmann, Pat Shoap, Andrew Geib and Jim Strader-Sasser; pianist Cathy Elkiss; and Tom Jolin on hammered dulcimer.
(Pictures by Donate Gardner)
