In the wake of what has been a very divisive election campaign season, Arizona Faith Network (AFN) reaches out to our community with a prophetic message of hope. Regardless of political outcomes, a fundamental principle of AFN since its inception—one of the main reasons we exist—is that we understand the transformative power of promoting respectful dialogue, decency in our communications with others, and civil discourse. We honor diverse opinions and seek to be respectful of each other no matter the faith tradition, political or social orientation, gender, race or ethnicity. Our prayer is that we would see this same spirit, this same principle, promoted throughout our community, state and nation.

We stand for a society in which we learn to listen to one another and hear each other’s needs, hopes, dreams and aspirations, without necessarily standing in agreement. We want most of all to be open to reflecting different perspectives in our being together, talking together and acting together. There is real transformative power when people who come from different perspectives can come together for the common good.

AFN believes that by taking the time to be together, listen to one another and reason together, we might not change each other’s opinions, but we might just find a soft wind that will mitigate our prejudices and shed a light of truth on our ideologies. We believe that we can, through respectful dialogue, come to a place where we can see beyond our own prejudices and judge our actions based on societal good.

So we all have some learning, some reflecting to do—the right to make choices and the responsibility to ensure those choices consider the common good. It takes courage, especially at a time when prevailing forces would suggest otherwise. But this approach—agreeing to try to live by this fundamental principle of civility—can benefit us all, our children and generations to come. We invite you to join us in this journey.

Send your thoughts to ContactUs@azfaithnetwork.org