![]() Look at what REACH in Hagerstown is doing. Faith in action is powerful - look at what Fredericks’s Religious Coalition is doing for the community. This faith in action is something we each can contribute to, and these organizations need our energy and support. Most faith communities have faith and action committees or organizations to help locals, or to help after disasters throughout the world. So how does this tie in with faith? How is this political? Our actions are expressions of our values, which stem from our faith. I know most of us, no matter how recently our ancestors immigrated, are willing to extend a helping hand to those less fortunate. I know that even as long as my family has been here, only the Native Americans have an inherent “right” to this land we live on. So when I hear of American citizens being adamant about turning away immigrant children, with a hatred and fear that their taxpayer dollars will be used to give these children a brighter future, I am deeply saddened. Today, people of many faiths consider service as part of their witness, often going on a mission trips, or simply preparing meals at a local soup kitchen. He was allowed to express his faith in a way that served his fellow citizens. ![]() When he was a conscientious objector during the Korean War, he served by performing alternative service in a hospital in Vermont. With other young Quakers in the 1940s, my father went to Germany to help rebuild after the war. I am privileged to be able to have that point of view, because I am an American. I imagine it to be the same hope that my ancestors had when they left England, Scotland, Ireland and Germany centuries ago.įaith is bigger than the mere human constructs of political borders. When I look into their eyes, I see the sadness of leaving a home they may both love and hate, and yet also recognize the glimmer of hope for a better life for their family. When I speak with undocumented immigrants, I am saddened as I think of the persecution, poverty, they leave in order to make a better life for their families. But did Jesus make a distinction? If, as Jesus, we are to strive to be models of loving kindness and gentleness, then we must strive to love to each person we encounter. Some people would say that politics has no place in talk about religion or faith. As a Christian, as a Quaker, I wonder how so many people claim to be deeply religious when they thrive on hating others, with a passion that is the opposite of the Christian love that Jesus and other faithful leaders modeled through the centuries. We had the McCarthy era, and now we just seem to be a culture that thrives on fear. That does not mean that persecution stopped for those who were different from the mainstream. After the Salem Witch Trials, those in power in the colonies decided a theocracy would not be a good thing. Early in this country’s history, Quakers were persecuted because their religious practices flew in the face of many of those with religious authority. One of the freedoms I treasure most is my freedom of religion. My rather “liberal” views stem from my Quaker beliefs, and thus my interpretation of Christianity. Even though we each may define a “True American” very differently, none of us can claim we have the one true definition. In so many ways, I am proud to be an American. Helen Tasker's essay " Words of Faith: Faith or Theology?" appeared in the Frederick News Post on July 26, 2014.
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