Pastoral Letter from Bishop Miller on 2016 Elections
A Pastoral Letter to the people of the Diocese of Milwaukee
on the 2016 Elections
On Wednesday, November 9, 2016 Bishop Miller circulated the following letter to the clergy and laity of the Diocese of Milwaukee in the immediate aftermath of the November 8th Elections.
Dear friends in Christ,
On Monday of this week, I found myself drawn to the words of the hymn, “All my Hope on God is Founded”, a hymn whose words have comforted me time and time again during the course of my life. I write to you today, the day after the 2016 election, to remind you in the words of this hymn that God will guide us through this time of change, as he has through so many changes before. My prayer, as expressed in our Book of Common Prayer, is that we “who are wearied by the changes and chances of this life will rest in God’s eternal changelessness”.
I know that there are many members of this diocese who are deeply distressed and saddened by the outcome of this election and what they perceive it says about our nation, just as there are those who are delighted by its outcome and the message it sends particularly to all those Republicans and Democrats currently in power. I commend to you the words our Presiding Bishop, Michael Curry, recorded on Election Day in which he reminded us that we are “one nation, under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all.” This is a common creed of all Americans and it is for this purpose we must continue to strive. As Bishop Curry reminded us, if we live up to this creed, we will truly be a shining example to the world. continue reading