Bishop Graham has offered this statement in regards to the upcoming election:

Dear Siblings in Christ across the Indiana-Kentucky Synod ELCA,

I am Bishop Timothy Graham, and as we approach the end of another contentious election season on November 5th, I want to offer some reflections for discernment. In addition, I want to convey my deep concern for rostered leaders, congregations, and all of the people in our faith communities.

Before I begin, I want to make it very clear that I am not telling anyone who to vote for. Instead, I want to encourage the faithful people of the Indiana-Kentucky Synod, and whoever else might encounter this message, to deeply discern how voting, and our dialogue before, during, and after this election are deeply connected to our call as God’s beloved children.

First, as concerned citizens of our world, country, states, and local communities, we are called to “informed and responsible voting” as a vital first step in our faithful civic engagement. “Lutherans recognize government as a gift from God to serve the common good” (ELCA’s social message, Government and Civic Engagement in the United States: Discipleship in a Democracy, (p.1).

So, by voting, we act as responsible citizens as we are called to be by God.

Secondly, the ELCA encourages holding respectful conversations and engagement in order to better understand opposing viewpoints and to avoid media hype and political spin in our conversations. This reflects our calling to live out Christ’s love through understanding and reconciliation (ELCA social statement, “Church in Society: A Lutheran Perspective,” p. 9).

In alignment with respectful discourse, Bishop Shelly Bryan Wee, of the Northwest Washington Synod ELCA, recently wrote:

“The eighth commandment declares that we are called to NOT bear false witness against our neighbor. This, of course, means not lying about another but seeking the truth. This means no name-calling or false accusations. But it goes beyond this. As Martin Luther tells us in his Small Catechism, we are to defend our neighbor, speak well of our neighbor, and explain everything in the kindest way.” Thank you, Bishop Shelley Bryan Wee.

Finally, God is God of ALL, the Creator of ALL living beings, and the Source of ALL life. God’s most important commandment is to Love God and Love Our Neighbor. These commandments are both equally important and yoked together (Mt 22.37-40). We can’t do one without the other.

And we’re reminded elsewhere in scripture that if we cannot love our neighbor whom we can see, then we cannot claim to love God whom we cannot see (1 Jn 4.20).

Dear Siblings in Christ, I realize this statement is not all-encompassing and much more could be said or written, but here’s the gospel in a nutshell: God loved the world, and God sent Jesus to incarnate God’s love for the world (Jn 3.16). And so, we are called, as God’s children, to be an expression of God’s love in the world. And how will others that? By how we love others (Jn 13.34- 35).

Dearly beloved, I pray, that as you have voted or will cast your vote (early or otherwise), you do so with the understanding that it is a response to God’s love for us. Voting, and honest, respectful discourse, are ways for us to live out our faithful calling as God’s beloved children. May God’s Holy Spirit encourage and direct us in God’s ways of truth and love as our election comes to its end and regardless of who wins or loses. Furthermore, may we be empowered by God’s Holy Spirit to act as agents of God’s love, healing, justice, and reconciliation, now and always.

Respectfully, and in Christ’s Love,

+ Bishop Timothy Graham