Mr. President,
Wow! After almost four years in office, you finally said something that is true and that I agree with: “We need to pray.”
Before you begin a temper-tantrum twitter to what you may perceive as an insult, keep in mind, I am a 61-year-old white, protestant woman—one of the key demographics in your bid for re-election. For this reason, it is in your best interest to continue reading.
Your uninformed determination to open churches for worship and prayer is nearsighted. You incorrectly assume that closed church doors are stopping the life and mission of the church. That, Mr. President, could not be farther from the truth!
In Matthew 18: 20 Jesus says:
“For where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there among them.”
Of the 7.8 billion people now alive on this planet, I think it is safe to conclude that there are many groups of at least two or three gathered together somewhere in His name. These assemblies may not be taking place in the traditional ways you are perhaps familiar with, but they are taking place!
The church where I am a congregant has been worshipping on-line since Bishop LaTrelle Easterling of the Baltimore-Washington Conference of the United Methodist Church made the decision “to honor local government directives” and not meet “on site until it is safe to do so.” This kind of technology is connecting billions of people worldwide in reverential awe of God and Her creation.
Jesus did not say “go build a mortar and brick structure, gather weekly, and then forget about me for the rest of the week.” He said, among other things, to “do unto others as you would have them do unto you,” “love others as I have loved you,” “feed the hungry, clothe the naked, visit the imprisoned,” “take care of widows and orphans,” “where possible live at peace with one another,” and “pray for your enemies.”
None of these pursuits necessarily take place within the confines of a steepled edifice and can sometimes be more effective when they don’t!
This active mindfulness, or Christ consciousness, transcends the barriers of space, time and the labels of religion, race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, economic status, political affiliation and otherwise.
Unfortunately, I doubt you will understand any of this due to your white privileged, patriarchal psychopathic personality which only serves to exacerbate your misogyny, bigotry, narcissistic heartlessness and greed.
Be that as it may, I am praying . . .
. . . for you and for all those in authority and leadership positions all over the world to make knowledgeable and wise decisions.
. . . for Scientists to find a safe and effective vaccine/cure/treatment for Covid-19.
. . . for doctors, nurses, medical professionals, front-line workers and essential personnel to have a tangible sense of how very much they are loved and appreciated so they will not get discouraged.
. . . for those who are sick, grieving, homeless, unemployed, in prison, the abused and abusers, alcoholics and addicts, all those who are suffering and feeling hopeless—that they would trust that God is with them—loving them, helping them—even if it does not feel like it and even when the evidence seems to point to the contrary.
I am praying.
Take care and please wear a mask.
Sincerely,
Susan Fridinger
P.S. Will I be voting for you in November? I will let one of my favorite actors, Will Smith, answer for me via this link. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=im_5QdHp04E
Post Script to those of you still reading . . .
As the US death total due to Covid-19 approaches nearly 100,000 people, I was (and still am) deeply troubled by President Trump’s lack of remorse over this traumatic loss of life. Additionally, his flippant attitude toward prayer only makes light of dire circumstances. These thoughts, coupled with my own discouragement at how sometimes situations seem to get worse before they get better while praying, prompted the above letter.
I know there are those among you who will be offended by what I have written about our President . . . I understand.
I hope you will take the energy that creates and join me in prayer. While we may not see eye to eye about President Trump, hopefully there is at least one thing on my prayer list above on which we can agree.
Please take care.
https://static01.nyt.com/images/2020/05/24/nytfrontpage/scan.pdf
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/05/24/us/us-coronavirus-deaths-100000.html
I whole- heartedly agree. Thank you for expressing this – the true nature of the church – so eloquently and succinctly ( President Trump should take lessons from you on the eloquent and succinct part as well as the message!) .
Thank you, Cousin.
Thank you, Susan, for telling the truth. Opening churches while it is still unsafe to do so is simply his ploy to court favor with the “religious right”. If he had any sense of God and God’s love for all people he would not issue directives to endanger us. He would pray, humbly repent, and ask God to give him a “new heart” and a “right spirit.” Don’t be deceived, this is just one more attempt to raise his sagging poll numbers.
Thank you, Millie.
Susan,
Wonderfully written. If only he could read it with the same heart you wrote it. Imagine the change in our world, He could go a long way toward “making America great again”. Thanks for your honesty and bravery.
Thank you, Connie. I posted the letter on his FB page where his Press Secretary is talking about opening churches.