None of you will believe until you love for your brother what you love for yourself. - Hadith 13
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None of you will believe until you love for your brother what you love for yourself. - Hadith 13 ✶
You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these. - Mark 12:31
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You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these. - Mark 12:31 ✶
Whatever is disagreeable to yourself, do not do unto others. - The Buddha, Udana-Varga 5.18
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Whatever is disagreeable to yourself, do not do unto others. - The Buddha, Udana-Varga 5.18 ✶
You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against any of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord. - Leviticus 19:18
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You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against any of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord. - Leviticus 19:18 ✶
This is the sum of duty. Do not unto others that which would cause you pain if done to you. - Mahabharata 5, 1517
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This is the sum of duty. Do not unto others that which would cause you pain if done to you. - Mahabharata 5, 1517 ✶
The Voice
of Faith
At Kansas Interfaith Action, we recognize our moral responsibility to engage in the public square. As people of faith and conscience, we find unity in the common threads of care and justice woven through our sacred texts - we are called to action. For citizens of the United States of America, one of the most powerful tools for putting faith into action is exercising our right to vote. Thus, our faith must inform our vote.
Whether you are Buddhist, Muslim, Jewish, Lutheran, Methodist, or Evangelical, the prophets are clear and unified in their voice. We must care for one another. We must care for our earth. We must vote for public servants who will enact policy that protects the most vulnerable of all creation.
We are called to pray, act, and vote. Join us.
Let’s vote!
Helpful
Tools
Election Season Prayers and Liturgy.
These prayers have been created and curated by Kansas Interfaith Action and are intended to be used by individuals and by faith communities in the days leading up to the election, inspiring people of faith to vote, and/or in the days following the election, allowing us to process outcomes.
What Can Faith Communities Do Legally?
Although 501C3 orgs are prohibited from directly endorsing candidates or parties, there’s still a lot that faith communities can do!
Talk about the issues from the pulpit and in adult education classes.
Speak about the issues that matter to your community - justice, equity, care for the most vulnerable, access to food, shelter, and other basic necessities - and then remind folks that elections are the way we have a voice as people of faith in our government. Encourage folks to vote for your shared values!
Take a stand on constitutional amendments and ballot measures.
Nonprofit orgs may legally express positions on ballot measures, constitutional amendments, and other policies put to a direct vote of the public, with care taken not to support any particular candidate or party’s position. (Learn more about lobbying under the Insubstantial Part Test.) There’s an important issue coming up in the Kansas Primary on August 4.
Check out more information here.
Get out the vote.
Communities of faith can and should mobilize their voters! The Voter Network provides lots of ways to GOTV in Kansas.
Looking for more? Check out these resources:
A helpful guide from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America on “Being a Public Church.”
Sermon/Preaching Resources
Here are a couple of resources for sermons and liturgies around the topics of voting, political action, and civic engagement from the Christian tradition.
Sermon Starters & Liturgical Resources from Texas Impact
Resources from Working Preacher
Why is it important to preach and advocate during the election season?
KIFA
Election
Season
Prayer
Source of our strength, as we enter this election season, we are filled with both hope and uncertainty. In a time when voting rights are under threat, when wealth and power seek to shape our democracy, and when public discourse is marked by division and hostility, we long for peace. Remind us that we do not walk this path alone. Fill us with the spirit of justice that sustained those who came before us.
Fill us with uncompromising courage, like John Lewis.
Fill us with deep and profound faith, like Fannie Lou Hamer.
Fill us with the relentless commitment to exposing truth, like Ida B. Wells-Barnett.
Fill us with unyielding determination, like Frederick Douglass.
Fill us with a passion for organizing and building community, like Dolores Huerta.
Fill us with tireless perseverance, like Susan B. Anthony.
As we prepare to cast our ballot, guide our hearts as we carry our deepest values into the voting booth. Then strengthen our hands and steady our resolve to continue the work of justice, compassion, and the common good, whatever the outcome may be. Amen.