This article was written by Reed Forgrave of Minneapolis, Jenny Berg of St. Cloud, J.P. Lawrence of Mankato, Trey Muse of Dundas, Sean Baker of Rochester, Jana Hollingsworth of Duluth, Lake Minn. Reported by Kim Hyatt of George and written by Reed. please forgive me.
ST. CLOUD — On a recent Sunday, congregants lined up at the Jubilee Worship Center, an evangelical church just off Highway 15 here. There were signs of election season in the air.
The church grounds, visible from the busy highway, had political signs posted, including Republican candidates for the Minnesota House of Representatives and independent candidates for mayor of St. Cloud. (Any candidate can pay a church to put a sign there.) A table inside says, “One in three Christians don’t vote. That’s about 2,500 10,000 people.”
The voter guide details the differences between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump’s policies on immigration, inflation, guns and abortion. A church member handed out instructions for a letter-writing campaign asking Christians in Michigan, a key battleground state, to “vote for candidates who support Biblical values.” The script mentioned “transgender ideology,” high grocery bills, and criminals crossing America’s borders.
“What we do is encourage people to vote and do their research, find out what the position is, seek the Lord and vote accordingly,” Jubilee’s senior pastor, the Rev. Mark Johnson, said after the service. All I have to do is do it.” “We’re not endorsing candidates.”
About 110 miles away in southwest Minneapolis, Mayflower Community Congregational United Church of Christ had a very different feel. A large sign facing Interstate 35W read, “Save Multiracial Democracy.” Other signs proclaimed progressive values, including protecting queer children, the environment, immigrants, and refugees.
Pastor Susie Hayward spoke from the pulpit about the people building walls in Palestine and Israel along the southern border. A few weeks ago, the church’s senior pastor, the Rev. Sarah Campbell, discussed the election in harsh terms, likening it to the resentment and discontent in Germany that led to Adolf Hitler. She talked about two types of churches: churches that enable fascism and churches that resist fascism.
Neither the St. Cloud church nor the Minneapolis church endorsed the candidate. But it was clear where they stood.
