One week more...
Final polls place Harris and Trump at 48%. It’s a dead heat. A pollster friend told me that as far as he can tell, the polling is accurate. This election is a coin toss.
If you find that disconcerting, I have a word of advice: consider doing something.
If you live in a swing state, do not underestimate the importance of canvassing. I have a friend here in MI who is canvassing daily and sharing stories on Facebook. She tells of voters still trying to make up their minds and of people not sure if they’re going to bother to vote. Not a lot of them, but a few. This election could be decided on razor-thin margins, which means that if a few hundred people convince a handful of people, that could determine the outcome of the entire election. Yes, it’s a small investment of your time. Yes, canvassing can be tiresome. But you’ll also meet people you otherwise never would, learn about neighborhoods you’d otherwise never step foot, and be able to sleep at night knowing you didn’t sit on the sidelines at a critical time in our nation’s history.
Having been on the road a lot this past month, I’m happy to be in Michigan for the week, and I’ve got some local events lined up for the next week.
The first is a convening for members of faith communities wanting to take concrete steps to protect and strengthen our democracy.
If you’ve been following the news, you’ll know that there are concerns about political violence on and around election day and concerns about a peaceful transfer of power. Rather than fretting about this passively, stand up to be a force for good. Here in Michigan, there are training sessions sponsored by Undivided and Faith ESRN, the faith organizing team of the Election Sabotage Response Network, being held in Grand Rapids and in Detroit. I’ll be participating in the Grand Rapids event (and virtually at the Detroit event).
If you are a faith leader or member of a faith community, sign up to learn more about the threats in this election season and beyond, participate in Michigan-specific scenario training, and training in de-escalation tactics. People of faith can be a force for good during uncertain times, but only if we prepare ourselves to know how to intervene.
The training is free, and breakfast and lunch are provided. For information or to register, click here. If you have questions, email info@faithesrn.org.
Back by popular demand, we’ll be hosting two screenings of For Our Daughters next week. On Monday, October 28, we’ll be at at Celebration Cinema/Grandville Rivertown. This screening is sponsored by Safe Haven Ministries in honor of Domestic Violence Awareness Month. I’ll be joined by Safe Haven’s Rachel VerWys and some of the film’s participants to discuss the film after the screening. Our last theatrical screening was an incredible experience and we’d love to have you join us at this one and connect with a local organization doing essential work in our own community.
To register, click here: GRANDVILLE EVITE
On Tuesday evening we’ll be holding a screening at Calvin Theological Seminary. We’ll also have a panel discussing the film and a Q&A.
Walk-ins welcome, but for planning purposes we’d love to have you register here:
Also, if you’re not in MI but want to connect vicariously, the video of our Arizona event is available below. It was such a beautiful and inspiring event for those in attendance, and it might provide a bit of encouragement to you as well.
Once again, our musicians were fabulous and really stole the show.
We’re also planning future dates, including one in Georgia following the election—because Nov. 5 isn’t the end, it may be just the beginning…
**One more thing: If you’re looking for a way to process the election results, I’ll be holding an Election Postmortem at the University of Notre Dame hosted by the Center for Philosophy of Religion. We have a stellar lineup: David Campbell, David French, Robert P. Jones, Christopher Parker, Katherine Stewart, Rachel Brown, Lilliana Mason, Elizabeth Neumann, Matthew Taylor, Chris Crawford, Mary Novak, Amanda Tyler, and Jim Wallis. Dec. 7, free and open to the public. More informatoin and registration here.
Since I live in South Dakota where roughly 65% of the population will vote for Trump I probably won't do any canvassing but I have spoken with my neighbors. In 1972 I spent roughly 9 months canvassing and working for George McGovern in the Grand Rapids area. It was a wonderful experience even though we lost.
Thank you Kristin Du Mez.