A Letter to Lancaster Christians

Written by Dr. Mary Theresa (Terry) Webb, West Lampeter. This piece was first published here, the LancasterSpeaksUp.com blog, on February 1, 2021 with permission from the author. It has been submitted to LancasterOnline/LNP for consideration as a Letter to the Editor. 

Thank you to all Mennonites who signed a recent one page ad on 01/20/21. But I missed the signatures of other Christians from Lancaster who boarded one of seven buses that took Lancastrians to Washington on Jan. 6^th to attend the Stop the Steal rally. I want to ask them why they attended a crowded rally when the Pandemic is raging?

I imagine you may have been thrilled to listen to former President Trump, his family and other supporters speak when he encouraged you to keep fighting for him. Maybe you just believe that attending that rally was your Christian patriotic duty. What happened when the crowd started storming the Capitol building? Did you go with them? Did you watch from a distance, cheer them on, or did you leave early? Do you still believe that the election was stolen now that a new president has been sworn in and is working and living in the White House? 

Perhaps you have mixed feelings like I did twenty-five years ago.  I also followed a charismatic leader and joined his group of Christians persuaded to live in an intentional community he founded. His words were spellbinding. I believed he spoke for Jesus. But he didn’t. Instead, although he was married, he was having illicit affairs with those he was counseling. At first, I didn’t believe it when he was exposed; then, I felt betrayed. Finally, the truth set in when I realized what that leader did was contrary to what he preached and what Jesus taught.  

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