Pineridge Blog

Elections are just something most of us have come to assume are the best way to give everyone a voice in making decisions.  But elections were not the natural way of things.  Kings were not elected but ruled in many places by might, divine right or both over many centuries.  The history of changes in leadership in the world is largely a bloody one.

Even in the Church’s history, elections were not a part of the way things were routinely done.  Actually most of Christian history can be summed up in a few words: “Father knows best.”  In fact it was not until 500 years ago that any church anywhere trusted its leaders to be chosen by election.  And the first church to do so was the Presbyterian Church.  From the beginning of the Reformed Church established by John Calvin in the 1500’s pastors were called to serve only having been first elected by the congregation. In each church Deacons and Elders are elected by the congregation to serve as servant leaders.  Deacons and Ruling Elders (the Session members) are ordained so their calling and election is the same as that of Teaching Elders (Ministers of Word and Sacrament).  Presbyterians really believe that the Holy Spirit works through the voices of the people in elections to discern God’s voice.

A Fun Fact To Know and Tell about Presbyterian history is that 25% of the delegates to the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia in 1787 were Presbyterian.  When they were trying to come up with a system to preserve the right of all to have a voice and a vote, they modified the system of Presbyterian Church form of representative government to become the system for the new United States of America.

I hope you will exercise your right to vote November 3 as an American.  And I hope you will exercise your right as a member of Pine Ridge Presbyterian Church to prayerfully consider who God is calling from among us to serve as a Deacon or an Elder for the next three years and submit their names to the Nominating Committee as we all prepare to vote for those who will serve in the class of 2023.