Her congregation has been praying for unity throughout a uniquely vitriolic election season, the Rev. Henrietta “Rhetta” Wiley says, and for the most part they’ve found a measure of peace. Tonight, as voting winds down across Maryland and beyond, they hope to share some of the success they’ve enjoyed.
Wiley, the rector of Trinity Episcopal Church in Towson, will lead an outdoor prayer service at the house of worship Tuesday night as a way of blessing the people of a country that have so often seemed bitterly divided over politics. A number of faith leaders are doing the same on Election Day.
“Weather permitting, we’ll be outside in front of the church with candles holding a service of evening prayer,” Wiley said. “We feel like it’s good idea to be visible to show that we are in prayer for our country, especially as the voting comes to an end. This is about praying for peace and clarity, for God to guide us through.”
The service, which starts at 7, is one of several offers of sanctuary and peace from the faith community that began on election eve and continue today.
On Monday evening, Central Presbyterian Church in Towson held what it called as a “peaceful, non-partisan gathering to lift our nation in prayer,” an event “centering on “unity, hope, and a reminder of who ultimately holds our future.” Memorial Episcopal Church in Bolton Hill held an evening of calming music, a spokesman said, to help ease anxieties around the nation’s day of decision.
Similar events began early this morning. Church of the Redeemer in North Baltimore planned to offer celebrations of the Holy Eucharist at 8 a.m, 1 p.m. and 6 p.m, and to leave the church open throughout the day as a space to “pray for the world, our nation, and its leaders.”
Grace United Methodist Church on North Charles Street will be open all day for prayer, a spokesperson for the denomination’s Baltimore-Washington Conference said.
The United Church of Christ has been sponsoring a campaign of spiritual and practical support for members called “Our Faith, Our Vote” throughout the election season. The denomination called for prayer in relation to the election for 24 hours Monday and will culminate its efforts with a two-hour online Election Day prayer vigil beginning at 4 p.m.
Church officials will use the Zoom event to share readings, music, and prayers submitted by members as part of the Our Faith, Our Vote campaign.
“As this historic campaign season concludes, our prayer vigil will be an inclusive space to hold and share the complex feelings people carry on election day, ” the Rev. Michael Neuroth, director of the UCC Office of Public Policy and Advocacy in Washington, D.C., said in a statement. “We will gather as the Church to pray and remind one another that whatever the outcome of this election, our mission remains unchanged — to build a just world for all.”
Beth Am Synagogue in Reservoir Hill will be taking a slightly different approach. The conservative Jewish temple — which is also serving as a polling station — will host members and neighbors in its courtyard at a four-hour event it’s calling “Party at the Polls,” a celebration of the right to vote and “a chance to unwind on Election Day,” according to the synagogue’s website. It begins at 4.
Wiley, meanwhile, hoped for a robust turnout at Trinity, a congregation she says draws about 80 people to services every Sunday. It’s a parish that reflects a wide range of political views but that she says has managed to remain united throughout the turmoil of the election season.
“Some of us will be disappointed when this is over,” she said. “And some of us will not be disappointed. The message we have been trying to promote is that the sun will rise on Wednesday, and as people of faith we will meet whatever comes, together, with the strength of our God behind us.”
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