People of God in Southern Ohio,
“…Then he said unto them, ‘Give therefore to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” Matthew 22:21
On Monday, the Internal Revenue Service announced a change to a decades-long provision that protected the boundary between church and state. Since 1954, the “Johnson Amendment” dictated that churches and other nonprofit organizations could lose their tax-exempt status if they endorsed or intervened in political campaigns for candidates for public office. Now, according to the IRS, churches can formally endorse politicians.
We are followers of Jesus Christ, and so our witness and voice is tuned to the Gospel, not any one political candidate or party. Our commitment to join together in common prayer across political difference, distinct from partisanship, is deeply embedded in our identity as Episcopalians. You will not hear me endorse any candidate for public office, nor are our clergy permitted to do so.
As bishop of the Diocese of Southern Ohio, I want to be clear: this is not a change we welcome. This is not a provision we asked for. This is not a boundary we will cross.
This boundary does not mean that we hold back from speaking faithfully to Gospel-driven values as they unfold in our public life. It does not mean that we refrain from naming injustice when we see it. And it does not mean that we stop advocating for the people who are most vulnerable among us: the poor, the hungry, those in danger.
We promise to do those things in our Baptismal Covenant, where we – with God’s help – declare that we will persevere in resisting evil, that we will proclaim by word and example the Good News of God in Christ, that we will seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving our neighbors as ourselves, and that we will strive for justice and peace among all people, respecting the dignity of every human being. These actions are central to our call as disciples of Jesus. They are not expressions of partisan politics, but of faithful discipleship.
Our role as the church is to continue to see each person as beloved, created in God’s own image.. We commit to the intentional formation of Christians who prayerfully discern our words and our actions because we are deeply rooted in the love of God, the way of Jesus, and the guidance of the Spirit.
When our neighbors and friends are taken from our neighborhoods, our grocery stores, our schools and workplaces; when they are detained illegally and in inhumane conditions, we pray, we speak, and we act.
When our pantry shelves are bare, with already-allocated federal resources intended to feed the hungry now cut off without warning, we pray, we speak, and we act.
When our churches are permitted to endorse politicians but not to provide sanctuary, we pray, we speak, and we act.
As your bishop, I see your faithful witness throughout our diocese and beyond. I see you standing in protest outside of detention centers. I see you working creatively to ensure that hungry people are fed–even when resources are more and more limited. I see you testifying to the glory of God’s inclusive and boundless love for all people.
As you consider how you will give to God what is God’s, I invite you to connect with your neighbors through your congregation; form partnerships and build networks of mutual support with your communities. Consider your own witness as a person of faith: how will you continue to pray, speak, and act?
Beloved, these are fearful times. I feel the weight of this moment as your bishop. Your clergy and lay leaders feel the weight. But let us also hold fast to our own capacity to be amazed and give glory to God who is present and at work in our midst, even now.
Hold fast to the hope of God in Christ. Hold fast to one another, beloved. Hold fast to this beautiful and broken world that God created, that God loves.
Go out, beloved, and bear witness to that hope,
The Rt. Rev. Kristin Uffelman White
Bishop
Diocese of Southern Ohio