10/19/2026
A Pastoral Letter on Referendum Day
Friends,
Today, as the people of Alberta face a monumental moment of decision, we are stepping right into the holy messiness of our civic life. We have the profound freedom to participate in shaping our shared future, but the gravity of this choice is a heavy thing to carry.
As you head out to the polls today, I want to offer you a reminder to carry with you into the voting booth and back out again: A ballot can inform a decision, but it cannot build a community.
It is so easy right now to feel like we are just at the mercy of massive, untouchable systems. But we aren't helpless: we have power and agency. As you exercise that power today, I challenge you to look past the tragedy of the short-term horizon. We are ultimately trying to create a better, more resilient province for all—and that requires choices rooted in radical solidarity with our neighbours, not in scarcity or fear. We have the opportunity to promote peace through the ballot box, turning our votes into actual instruments of Shalom.
But remember: A ballot can inform a decision, but it cannot build a community.
We desperately need the discernment to demand better of our political discourse. The issues dividing us right now are deeply complex, easily oversimplified, and wildly misunderstood. We have to be brave enough to hold all leaders accountable for divisive language, the spread of misinformation, and the erosion of integrity. It’s tempting to look across the political aisle and see a stranger, but the truth is we share a mutual desire for a flourishing home, for security, and for purpose. When the political machine relies on division to win, we have to ground ourselves instead in a shameless, defiant grace.
Because a ballot can inform a decision, but it cannot build a community.
We believe in a kingdom that looks like a massive, wide-open table, where the marginalized, the vulnerable, and the oddballs are given the absolute seats of honour. Let your civic participation be an extension of that table today. But when you walk out of the voting booth, give yourself the humility to hold space for honest dialogue. Find the strength to disagree faithfully, without breaking the bonds of our community.
Whatever the outcome is tonight, we'll all be here in the morning to process. A vote tells us what path we are on, but it is still entirely up to us to walk it together.
So let's roll up our sleeves. Let's get to work building communities of joy, hope, love, and peace right here in Alberta.
