Altar politics: Sharing communion on Election Day

I don’t know when it happened exactly, but at some point the most important event on my calendar for November 6, 2012, was not the presidential election. At some point, the unrelenting political advertisements, the carefully crafted robocalls and the irrepressible news accounts lost their power to elicit my fears and hopes or even capture my attention. I began to believe that the most important thing about November 6 was that the church would gather for communion.

Three months before Election Day, two friends and I began a project called Election Day Communion. We were concerned that Christians were being shaped more by the tactics and ideologies of political parties than by our faith and unity in Jesus. I’ve noticed this inclination in myself. Captivated by the strategies and posturing that accompany the pursuit of power, I can easily forget where I place my hope, to whom I pledge my allegiance and how transformation happens.

So we plunked down 20 bucks and created a website to communicate this simple invitation: Join us at the Lord’s Table on Election Day to remember, to give thanks for and to witness to our faith in Jesus. We invited our friends, and our friends invited their friends, and soon many people were sharing and responding to the call of Election Day Communion.