Elections and Democracy 

Order of Service - Script 

for Sunday November 6, 2022 

The U.S. is a Republican Democracy. This means that we are self governing by means of our elected representatives. 

NIUU, Chris and Connie Johnson, Pastor Fred 

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Welcome and Announcements: 

A warm welcome to everyone who will share in worship with us NIUU’s today. 

Our commitment is to provide an open context to contemplate the part of our lives that transcends the ordinary. 

We don’t require any commitment to religious doctrine or teaching. 

We only ask open hearts and minds. 

We invite everyone to: 

Come into this circle of love and compassion,

Come into this community where we can dream and

Believe in those dreams—

Welcome to North Idaho Unitarian Universalists where we accept, we support, we transform:  Ourselves, Our Community. Our world.   

Lighting the Chalice: Chris

Persist in Faith

By Pat Uribe-Lichty

We face a challenge to democracy:

a challenge that calls us to hope in moments of despair,

a challenge that asks us to persist in the faith

that we can and must make a difference.

May our flaming chalice recommit us to truth in our words and our actions,

that we may live as we believe people should live.

Opening Words: ­­­Connie

Let Your Body Tell the Truth

By Gretchen Haley

Come now, across platforms and practices

To declare with joy our resilience!

To proclaim on purpose:

we have survived

the pandemics of our time!

We have survived,

We are surviving.

We have pivoted,

And we have planned,

and then re-planned,

And then thrown out all plans

To the wind.

In this circle we will say

without shame:

Some days

we lost our way,

and our passwords,

And we have not always been our best selves.

We are learning

and not always quickly,

To regroup.

Remember: perfection

Was never the point.

We are here

because we long to try again.

To promise to be partners

In this long-haul work of loving

and becoming.

Even while we grieve the cost,

Which is not small.

But the cost lingers in our hearts

And sometimes turns

to rage.

Here, let your body

tell the truth.

Shake free the stories that

Live in your skin.

Breathe in your Beauty. 

And breathe out your burdens.

Breathe in your beauty, breathe out

your burdens.

Breathe in your burdens and breathe out your beauty.

Be here with it all, with all of us,

In the freedom of this new day.

The storm is passing over,

the sun is breaking through

And This new day dawns for us all.

Come, let us worship together.

Hymn #119: Once to Every Soul and Nation 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T2EC4tSaB24 

1. Once to every soul and nation comes the moment to decide, 

In the strife of truth with falsehood, for the good or evil side: 

Then to stand with truth is noble, when we share its wretched crust; 

Ere that cause bring fame and profit, and 'tis prosperous to be just. 

2. Though the cause of evil prosper, yet 'tis truth alone is strong;

Though its portion be the scaffold, and upon the throne be wrong. 

Then it is the brave one chooses, while the coward stands aside, 

Till the multitude make virtue of the faith they have denied. 

Covenant: 

Love is the spirit of this church, and service its law

This is our great covenant:

To dwell together in peace,

To seek truth in love,

And to help one another. 

Greeting each other via Zoom 

Joys and Concerns (with lighting of candles of caring) 

Story: Fred

Most of us have stories regarding elections in our nation and our communities. 

Some of those stories have happy endings, some, not so much. 

My earliest memories of an election is also one of my earliest memories. 

It was 1956. Dwight D. Eisenhower, then President of the U.S. was running for re-election on the Republican ticket. His running mate and vice president was Richard M. Nixon. His opponent was Adlai Stevenson. I was an adult before I learned that Stevenson was a great American statesman. 

At the age of five, I went with my mother for her to cast her vote. I was deeply impressed, at least in part by the mechanics of the process. There was a voting booth with a curtain for privacy. There were banks of levers for the candidates and issues. My mother pulled the appropriate lever, and her vote was cast as she opened the curtain. Although she was a pioneering social worker, a social liberal, and a life-long democrat, she cast her vote for President Eisenhower. As a child, I couldn’t understand why anyone would not vote for him. 

My first exposure to the process of voting was important to me because elections became a deeply important part of my life. 

I’m sure many of us have shared the experience of the meaning and importance of democracy and elections. In a participatory democracy, it is a far more powerful act than we often realize. 

I have had many more experiences with elections in the course of my life, some of them better than others. I won’t go into detail about any more of them because I wouldn’t have time to say much else today! 

Meditation: Chris

Election Day

By Gary Kowalski

It is the day before the election as I write these lines, and whatever the outcome, I will be glad when it’s over. Some will be elated by the results, and others will feel dejected, but regardless of who wins or loses, our world will still be broken and suffering from ills that the government is powerless to cure. Our lives will still be chaotic and in need of tranquility; grief and loss will continue to haunt us; we will still face the challenge of finding meaning and a faith that can sustain us through tough times.

Campaigning in America often carries messianic overtones, and politicians collude in the drama by puffing their biographies to mythic proportions. They make big promises, but no new administration can deliver friendship, peace of mind, personal integrity, or a sense of self-worth. Finding the qualities that make life worth living, building them into our daily lives, and passing them along to our children, will continue to be our personal responsibility, regardless of who controls town hall, congress, or the White House.

Voting is important, but there are many other ways in which we can exercise power in our own lives and influence the world for the better. Self-government,after all, begins at home: with how I treat my neighbor, relate to my family, care for my community, and how I work and play. Hope for the future depends less on who gets elected than on our ability to exercise our own power for good.

Sermon: 

As almost any election draws near, we are likely to hear someone say, “This is the most important election of our lives!” 

This year, there is a good possibility that such a statement may be true. 

The future of elections in many places in the U.S. is at stake. 

As UU’s, democracy and elections are an important part of our faith. 

Our Fifth Principle of the Seven (or Eight) speaks of, “The right of conscience and the use of the democratic process within our congregations and in society at large.”

The use of the democratic process in the election this week can help enable future elections to take place reliably. 

A failure of the democratic process would be a disaster, not only for the U.S., but for all kinds of people of good will the world over. 

I’m confident that the election result will be mixed as it almost always is. 

In many places, people will be disappointed, sometimes bitterly. 

In other places, people will rejoice, sometimes with good reason, sometimes not so much. 

By all means, in neither case, whether we rejoice or grieve after the results are finalized, it will not likely be the end of the world as we know it. 

The single most important principle to uphold is the election process itself. 

Local communities have developed their own ways of conducting free and fair elections. 

It is surely something to be proud of. 

The most serious danger of the current election period is the attempt in many places to question or subvert the election process itself. 

To say the least, we all need to resist any attempt and even any such tendency in ourselves. 

There will be some surprises as there always are. 

Our personal feelings about the results are less important than the reliability of the results, so the surprises can do their work in the sustenance of the important process. 

One function of surprise in an election is to remind us that no one has a monopoly on the results of elections. 

There are always people whose disappointment is so strong that they question the reliability of the results and the process itself. 

This time around, there may be more of that kind of questioning than usual. 

There are even threats of violence and some dark hints about civil war. 

We all have to take threats seriously, but we can make up our minds ahead of time that we will not allow threats to affect our own thoughts, words, or actions regarding our sacred elections and our democracy. 

Yes, I speak of both, our elections and our democracy, as sacred, particularly in the context of UU faith. 

We take our democracy most seriously, as noted above relating to our Fifth Principle. 

It is part of our commitment to each other as a way of life, as important to us as doctrines are important to people of some other religious faiths. 

One tool that has long been important to many of us and that safeguards our commitment to the democratic process is the secret ballot. 

By refusing to reveal to anyone the specifics of how we plan to vote or how we have voted, we can keep ourselves much safer in the face of threats. 

We have every right to work for any party or candidate we wish, but we do not have to reveal the specifics regarding the casting of our ballots. 

I realize that my position would wreak havoc with much of the work of surveys and pollsters, but the issues of personal safety take priority to me, especially in times like ours. 

I voted 11 days ago, using the mail, but I’m not going to say for whom I voted. 

Everyone who knows me is likely to be able to make a good guess about my vote, but a good guess is definitely different than knowing for certain. 

Whether we use the specifics of the secret ballot to protect our own personal safety as we vote, the best protection of our democracy is its establishment in the Constitution of the U.S. 

Our system is a republican democracy. 

The two terms, republic and democracy, are nearly identical in meaning, but there are a few subtle distinctions I want to talk about. 

We could say that a republican democracy and a democratic republic are virtually the same thing. 

That is true, as far as it goes, and we are hearing our system most commonly called a democratic republic these days. 

I choose the term republican democracy out of personal experience and preference. 

I have visited countries that called themselves democratic republics, and the difference from republican democracies are subtle, but they have seemed much more important at times in the past. 

Generally speaking, democratic republics have been collectivist in their economic systems. 

That would mean that they are communistic, like the DDR, Deutsche Demokratische Republik, the German Democratic Republic, aka East Germany. 

For good and ill, I would not accuse the U.S. of resembling a collectivist or communist system of its economy in any sense. 

Of course, we have today a balance of socialism and capitalism, and a more detailed discussion of that balance would have to wait for another day. 

Now I need to get back to the balance of a republic and a democracy before I run out of time. 

From Classical Greek, democracy means rule by the people. 

From ancient Rome, in Latin, republic means the people’s thing.

As we think of the terms today, there is a small difference in emphasis. 

Democracy implies direct rule by majority vote. 

Republic implies the election of representatives who rule by making laws. 

The rule of law rather than the rule of individual people or even the rule of an easily swayed majority of the people is a feature of a republic or a republican democracy. 

In the U.S. the rule of the majority is tempered by the election of qualified representatives who, at least theoretically, act for the well being of the people who have chosen them. 

When the representatives act with good will, the system works for the well being of all. 

When they seek their own benefit above that of the people they represent, the system begins to break down. 

The good will of the representatives is much more important than their political party, but not everyone appreciates that reality! 

The lack of civility in our election season today is a serious concern for us all. 

The reaction of too many political opponents of Nancy Pelosi to the brutal attack against her husband has been a sad example. 

The lack of any response at all by some others has been even worse. 

The division between political parties and commitments is deep and wide. 

This is, of course, only one example of the troubles afflicting our democracy today, but it is becoming a way of describing the danger we are in. 

The entire system of voting is under threat, but there are many courageous and dedicated people who are standing firmly, especially in a time such as ours. 

President Bill Clinton famously said, 

"There is nothing wrong with America that cannot be cured by what is right with America." 

I would add that the same thing can be said of our democracy and elections in this country. 

Amen 

Let it be 

Blessed be! 

Congregational Response 

Offering Information 

Charity of the Month: 

 

CAP Food Bank

 

CAP food banks offer weekly assistance with perishable items. Depending on availability, households may receive bread, deli items, salads, dairy products, pastries, and fresh produce to help stretch food resources on a regular basis.

CAP food banks also provide food boxes that include approximately enough food items for three meals a day for one week for a given household size. Food boxes are available quarterly, and possibly more often depending on circumstances. 

Donations To our Charity of the Month, NIUU pledges and regular church offerings can be mailed to NIUU at: 

North Idaho Unitarian Universalists

PO Box 221

Coeur d'Alene, ID 83816

Extinguishing the Chalice : Connie

Hope Continues

By Kevin Jagoe

When the candle dims,

The wax almost spent

The light turns amber like a sunset

Still it provides light

Still it provides heat

Still it can kindle new flames And pass its glow on

Still it contributes to new illumination.

When sunsets turn to new days

When seasons transform,

When the candle dims, all is not lost.

Hope continues, uncertain and true,

like candlelight, ready to spark again.

Closing words: Chris

Timothy Snyder

Life is political, not because the world cares about how you feel, but because the world reacts to what you do. The minor choices we make are themselves a kind of vote, making it more or less likely that free and fair elections will be held in the future. In the politics of the everyday, our words and gestures, or their absence, count very much… The symbols of today enable the reality of tomorrow. 

Closing Hymn - If there is time: 

Hymn #121 - We'll Build a Land 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ohFxzVjx1M