Associated Press

LANCASTER, Pa. (AP) — The Reverend David Peck knows firsthand how divided communities ravaged by violence can be torn apart by this repeated devastation.

In his previous work as the Anglican Church’s representative for international development, Peck saw in his travels to Africa how religious groups could be part of the problem, but also part of the solution.

Now, Peck is a pastor in the heart of Pennsylvania — a state that is at the epicenter of a bitterly contested presidential campaign that has sparked deep anxiety, conflict between families and friends, even fears of election-related violence.

Opposing groups can find reconciliation by drawing on shared spiritual traditions, Peck said. It may be the common belief in mercy or the recognition of the human dignity of all.

He realized “how few resources people are in applying their faith creatively in a conflicted political landscape,” said Peck, rector of the historic St. James Episcopal Church.

“I think we really have the best tools” in the spiritual traditions to deal with these conflicts, he said. “We just didn’t tap into them and use them very effectively.”

So he began a weekly series of gatherings this fall at St. James, called “Contemplative Citizenship.” The goal is to help people take deep breaths—literally—and apply ancient techniques of prayer and meditation that allow people to respond to conflict more deliberately.

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In the dim light of his downtown Lancaster church sanctuary on a recent Tuesday night, he led a guided meditation for about 50 people — Episcopalians, Catholics, Quakers among them — who brought their visceral concerns about the election. .

“The hope of democracy in a deeply divided country is citizens who are more contemplative,” Peck told the gathering. He called for “a more prayerful, attentive, and engaged citizenry, better able to see the sins of our own parties, both in ourselves and in other men, so that we may live and vote and debate more humbly”.

This does not mean giving up your strong political beliefs. But the program aims to help people build their spiritual muscles to enable them not to react quickly in anger to someone’s opposing point of view, whether on social media or in real life.

Each week on the program, Peck gives a talk and then presents participants with a classic prayer to meditate on. In a week there was the Lord’s Prayer. Future sessions will include the use of mantras such as in the Hindu tradition and the Metta prayer from Buddhist practice.

On this particular mid-October evening, he focused on the Jesus Prayer, cultivated over the centuries by Eastern Orthodox monks.

It began with a discussion based on Scripture, poetry, even Rolling Stones lyrics. He then led the participants in a period of quiet meditation, followed by an open mic sharing of reflections.

Participants said that while it was difficult to filter out the hostility of the ongoing political campaign, they appreciated the opportunity to learn ways to respond more from a position of calmness and spiritual strength.

“Now more than ever, we need this,” said Timothea Kirchner, a member of St. James.

She previously worked as a county and public school administrator, where she said “it was my job to try to bring together good people who had very different views and help them find common ground.”

But today, she said: “I find the conversations so full of vitriol. I just feel that a place like St. James has an obligation to make conversations happen again, to find the humanity of the other.”

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Dennis Downey, a Catholic attending the service, said the lessons are useful for people of any religious tradition. “We have enough separation today,” Downey said. “We need things that bring us together and offer a measure of hope and healing.”

During the session, Peck led participants in a time of quiet meditation on the Jesus Prayer, a practice that involves repeating a phrase in rhythm with the breath: “Lord Jesus Christ, son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.” .

That mantra-like phrase, sober as it is, underscores a valuable political lesson, he said — that one’s side is not always right, nor the other side always wrong. He cited the Rolling Stones’ classic “Sympathy for the Devil,” which said the blame for the Kennedy assassinations extended to “you and me.”

Peck said the lyrics were a sober reminder that “there wasn’t just something wrong with the bad people out there, there was something wrong with me and the good people out there.”

While many fear the potential for violent conflict during and after the election, Peck is hopeful. He draws on his years of experience as International Development Secretary for the Archbishop of Canterbury – the leader of the global Anglican Communion, of which the Episcopal Church is a part – on international development issues. In this role, he saw the role of faith-based groups in Africa working to bring peace during conflict.

He also noted that faith-based liberation movements in history, such as those led by Mahatma Gandhi and the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., have strong spiritual roots. In the Civil Rights Movement, churches and Christians had formal training in the practices of prayer and nonviolence.

“We have great academic activities and resources online, but they have to be taught in the community and they have to be practiced,” Peck said. “Even though we know it in our heads, when we’re under stress and suffering, it’s hard work.”

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