TLDR: Let us reach deeply into the reservoir of faith in our soul and dare to pray for a world filled with God’s presence and love. Read on for more.
I just returned from two vastly different experiences. The first experience was the funeral of my Sister-in-Law, Carmen, in Tampa, Florida. Carmen was married to my brother Jaime, who is two years older than me and who splits his time between New Jersey and Colombia. The two had been separated for a few years, but we all inherited Carmen after the split. Overwhelmingly loved by my entire family (Nieces and Nephews included), Carmen was a sister to all of us. She grew up a few doors from us in Bello, Colombia, and has been closely connected to our family since she was twelve years old. Her premature loss is indescribably hard because Carmen was a dear friend, but also because she was the primary caregiver for Juan David, her eldest son.
Back in December 2006, Juan David and his men drove over several improvised explosive devices in Iraq, as they were on their way to pick up several journalists at the Tikrit airport. These journalists were chosen to document and witness the execution of Saddam Hussain on December 30, 2006. Most of Juan David’s men died during the explosion, but he survived, after having lost both legs. He spent almost three years at Walter Read National Military Medical Center, underwent a great number of surgeries, and was treated for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Unable to be fitted for prosthetics, Juan David has been confined to a wheelchair for the last 18 years. He resides in a home built for him by the Wounded Warrior Project, in Parrish, Fl, about an hour south of Tampa. Carmen’s death creates a problem for us, as Juan David still needs some support throughout the day.
The second event I just returned from was the 2024 Clergy Conference at Camp Allen. The theme of the conference was “Finding Compassion During an Election Year.” Several of the World-renowned speakers spoke about compassion as a biblical concept, read poetry that closely connected us to the theme, and did biblical exegesis on various passages of Scripture that speak about the subject. A particular exercise during one of the workshops was very telling. A spectrogram is a visual representation of where members of a group find themselves in terms of various issues. The questions asked were specific to our current national mood: “If you feel calm, relaxed, unconcerned, unafraid about this presidential campaign, move to the north wall of the room. If you feel completely overwhelmed and anxious about this election, move to the south wall. The rest of you walk to any place in the room that most accurately resembles how you feel.” Not surprisingly, over 75% of people were in the mildly to seriously overwhelmed about our present political situation. Similar questions showed how stressed clergy are during this season of our lives.
Most congregations have folks at both ends of the political divide, which means that clergy have the difficult task of holding the tension, building acceptance, listening to people’s worries and fears, and preaching civility and love of neighbor, while feeling quite unable to verbalize their own fears and anxieties. This leads to great isolation. Additionally, some parishioners demand that their rectors take a stand on the political issues of the day, demanding that they become more “prophetic” or to “speak truth to power,” going to the extent of accusing clergy of cowardice or “worrying more about a salary than the truth of the Gospel.” As a young clergyman told me, “They expect me to be the next Detrick Bonhoeffer and nothing less than this would satisfy them.” These attacks are demoralizing, especially to young clergy who are trying very hard to love their people regardless of political party lines. In this regard, I have been very blessed that none of you have imposed your political will on me and understand that my job is to love all of you and to be your rector before and after this contentious and almost inhumane election. Please keep clergy from around the country in your prayers and continue to practice civility with each other until this election passes.
God is in control, let us continue to pray for a better future for our nation, a future filled with justice, peace, and prosperity. I still have hope in our nation, and I believe God is still in the business of bringing the whole world under the reach of Christ’s saving embrace. Let us reach deeply into the reservoir of faith in our soul and dare to pray for a world filled with God’s presence and love.
Please keep my family in your prayers. May our Lord continue to bless you,
Fr. Roman+
