By: Rev. Kendal L. McBroom, M.Div. MPP
2nd Episcopal District, Washington Annual Conference
Member of Metropolitan AME Church, Washington, DC
Rev. William H. Lamar, IV, Pastor
From North Carolina flipping at least four congressional districts, to Abdul El-Sayed becoming the first Muslim elected to the United States Senate, to Scott Colom’s historic lead in Mississippi’s Senate race, to Keisha Lance Bottoms becoming the first Black woman elected governor in our nation’s history: Tuesday, November 3rd, 2026 was a day beyond words. Black women in particular were elected to pivotal posts across local, state, and federal government. Told by the U.S. commander-in-chief to vote as though he were on the ballot, voters did exactly that, in droves! No party or candidate is perfect, and as the Church, we are called to be committed to propinquity over partisanship. Still, the people chose candidates who spoke to the issues that have weighed them down the most, and in doing so, have shifted what is possible for our future.
These results give us great reason to celebrate, and we must honor everyone who made them possible: from Stacey Abrams and the many faithful voting rights activists, organizers, and organizations, to the voters ourselves. Our communities have benefited enormously from their work and witnesses. The sacrifices of generations past and present must not be forgotten, and we must give credit where credit is due.
Yet even as we celebrate, we must remember that this moment can be sustained only through the deep, transformative work of education and moral formation: civic, theological, spiritual, and social. It will take a collaborative, coherent model for forming the members of our congregations and communities in the liberating ways of Jesus of Nazareth. This is not an invitation to push a Democratic or Republican Jesus or a blue-toned Christian nationalism. Far from it! It is a call to equip those within our pastoral care to recognize and stay engaged in the struggle to make the Gospel real, tangible, and material for the people of God and the world, through both policy engagement and spiritual practice. We cannot leave everything to newly elected officials. We must work alongside them, hold them to their commitments, and ensure that the voices of the people are not lost in the unglamorous work of governance.
It is the role of the faith community to keep the prophetic imagination of the beloved community, and the liberation of the captive in all its forms, at the forefront of the agenda. It is our responsibility, our very duty, in “seeking the welfare of the city,” to ensure that the cries of the overlooked and overburdened do not become political fodder, and that their hopes and dreams are not sacrificed on the altar of political expediency or bureaucratic inertia.
The people have spoken. The wins were hard won. Now it is our time, together, to take up the ministry of building a better present and future for those to come, just as our ancestors did for us.
וִיהִ֤י ׀ נֹ֤עַם אֲדֹנָ֥י אֱלֹהֵ֗ינוּ עָלֵ֑ינוּ וּמַעֲשֵׂ֣ה יָ֭דֵינוּ כּוֹנְנָ֥ה עָלֵ֑ינוּ וּֽמַעֲשֵׂ֥ה יָ֜דֵ֗ינוּ כּוֹנְנֵֽהוּ׃
وَلْتَكُنْ نِعْمَةُ الرَّبِّ إِلَهِنَا عَلَيْنَا، وَعَمَلَ أَيْدِينَا ثَبِّتْ عَلَيْنَا، وَعَمَلَ أَيْدِينَا ثَبِّتْهُ.
“Que el favor del Señor nuestro Dios esté sobre nosotros, y haz prosperar para nosotros la obra de nuestras manos; ¡oh, haz prosperar la obra de nuestras manos!”
“La douceur du Seigneur soit sur nous ! Confirme l’ouvrage de nos mains!”
“Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us, and prosper for us the work of our hands—O prosper the work of our hands!
