By Mary Frances Schjonberg, November 06, 2008

The Episcopal Church's Episcopal Public Policy Network stands ready to work with Barack Obama and Joe Biden "to address the issues before us while seeking to build a world in which God's dream of justice is a reality."

That was the message November 6 from the network and the church's Office of Government Relations.

EPPN's statement said that Obama's election "represents a significant victory in our nation's long and continuing struggle to heal the wounds of injustice and inequality in our common life." The just society envisioned by the Baptismal Covenant "is not the one we see daily either at home or aboard," EPPN said, adding that Obama and Biden "will have to build on their message of hope and change, heal the wounds of a long and fractious campaign, and work not only across the aisle, but across the nation and the world for a better life for all of God's people."

The complete text of EPPN's statement is below.

Practicing Episcopal hospitality on Election Day

St. Francis' Episcopal Church in San Antonio, Texas, was one of an unknown number of Episcopal congregations that served as election polling places November 5. St. Francis parishioners provided hospitality to voters and poll workers all day. Organizer Holly Zook said that "468 people came to St. Francis and went away feeling good about the world … We made a real statement of hospitality, and we sent the election workers home smiling."

Among the many other Episcopal congregations that served as polling places were Episcopal Church of the Redeemer in Midlothian, Virginia; St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Minneapolis, Minnesota; St. Mary's Episcopal Church in Yorktown, New York; St Aidan's Episcopal Church in Olathe, Kansas; St. Elizabeth's Episcopal Church in Richmond Hill, Georgia, St. Bede's Episcopal Church in Los Angeles, California; and Episcopal Church of the Ascension in Twin Falls, Idaho.

It is not unusual for churches of all denominations to be official neighborhood polling places. In Twin Falls, for instance, Mormon, Foursquare, Reformed, Brethren, Lutheran, and non-denominational congregations hosted election officials and voters.

And in London, Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, speaking during a question-and-answer session November 5 after an evening address to the William Temple Foundation, called the election "‘an amazing demonstration of the vitality of the democratic process."

"A record turnout. And the sense therefore that the issues in the election, the issues about the outgoing American administration, have actually stirred the moral imagination of the United States in ways that people didn't expect," Williams said, according to a blog entry by Times of London reporter Ruth Gledhill. "Given the sort of turnout that we have in British elections it would be quite nice to have an election one of these days that stirred our imagination to that extent."

EPPN statement

Tuesday, Americans took advantage of our extraordinary democratic system of government to vote. While history is made in every election, all recognized the uniqueness of that moment, as our nation would elect either an African-American as President or a woman as Vice President. While views will differ on the outcome of Tuesday's vote, we hope all Americans will recognize that the election of the first African-American President of the United States represents a significant victory in our nation's long and continuing struggle to heal the wounds of injustice and inequality in our common life. We congratulate President-elect Obama on his extraordinary achievement, but we do so knowing the challenges that await him. The just society we seek – the one we Episcopalians commit to in our baptismal covenant – is not the one we see daily either at home or abroad. As President and Vice President, Senators Obama and Biden will have to build on their message of hope and change, heal the wounds of a long and fractious campaign, and work not only across the aisle, but across the nation and the world for a better life for all of God's people. We look forward to working with them to address the issues before us while seeking to build a world in which God's dream of justice is a reality.

Episcopal News Service
The Rev. Mary Frances Schjonberg is Episcopal Life Media correspondent for Episcopal Church governance, structure, and trends.