Service at 9 AM and 10:30 AM. Our American body politic has long been fractured. As African American poet Langston Hughes wrote long ago, “America never was America to me.” But this turbulent summer, with its even more turbulent presidential campaign, has exposed those fault lines in a way unprecedented in recent history. Is it possible to heal our divisions while creating an America that truly is for everyone? During hard times in the past, the writings of Quaker educator Parker Palmer have been a source of hope and sustenance for me. His 2011 book, Healing the Heart of Democracy, is no exception. Palmer doesn’t have easy answers, and neither do I. But perhaps his “politics of the brokenhearted” suggests some ways to approach our current situation.

Topics: Worship