The Sioux Falls City Council continues the all-too-frequent and exclusionary practice of opening a government meeting with a velvet-fisted Christian prayer, and the Christian pastor invited to chip away at separation of church and state instead delivers a message on public health and housing policy and exhorts the rich and comfortable around him to have empathy and take of those in need:
All of us who’ve enjoyed the bounty of our nation, our state, and our city have a responsibility to those who’ve been left out of the American Dream: the young mom taking care of three kids, the young man living at the Bishop Dudley House who maybe found a job yesterday, the staff at The Banquet or the Glory House or Kingdom Boundaries or all the agencies who serve the poor and the powerless, who try to do more, serve more people with diminishing resources.
3,000 years ago, a man tried to speak for those who were marginalized, and he was not well received. In frustration, he went out into the wilderness, where a great earthquake shook the land. There was no wisdom in the earthquake. And a great fire came, but there was no wisdom in the fire. And a great wind hit, too, gave him no help. But then he heard the still, small voice of God.
I would challenge all of us, you who are elected to lead and those of us who enjoy the bounty of this country, to be mindful of those who don’t enjoy the great success and privileges that we enjoy as citizens of this great country and this great city.
I commend you to listen to the prophet Elijah and the wisdom that he brings. May your decisions and your deliberation be mindful of those who are most in need of our help [Pastor Bob Chell, invocation, Sioux Falls City Council meeting, 2017.01.17].
One little mention of his particular god, sandwiched between his primary message of earthly economic justice. Send Pastor Bob Chell to the Inauguration to straighten out the billionaires and theocrats taking charge of our country!
Great story Cory,
Too bad it doesn’t seem to get the reaction a sex scandal in Pierre does.
I would like to meet Pastor Chell.
I admire his actions.
Bob Chell is a fine man. His father was a friend of mine. Thanks Bob for all you do.
Jeff Nelsen
Agreed, Spike. I would love to see positive messages about practical policy solutions draw more attention than our Legislature’s endless stream of errors. Our Legislature could help make that happen by not making such errors.