Bloomington-Normal area church leaders held a rally Tuesday to create more positive political discussions during the current election cycle.
It has become increasingly common in recent years for political conversations to become difficult to have among family or friends without anger or hate prevailing. Members of many local congregations met outside the McLean County Museum of History in downtown Bloomington for a "kindness rally" to discuss ways to better approach political conversations, and how to spread acts of kindness.
“People in my church have come to me and said, ‘I don't know how to go home for family dinners, I don't know how to have a conversation with my parents or my grandparents or my children, because we come from such different perspectives,’” said Jennie Edwards-Bertrand, lead pastor at Hope United Methodist Church in Bloomington.
“We just want to give them tools to still love their family, even in the midst of different perspectives.”
Do Unto Others, which held the rally, is a grassroots movement founded by Resurrection United Methodist Church in Kansas City, Missouri.
“For the sake of neighborliness and community and following our faith as well as engaging in discussion about important issues, kindness is essential,” said Danny Bradfield, senior pastor at First Christian Church in downtown Bloomington.
Local candidates for re-election also made appearances at the event, offering quotes or words of wisdom to those in the crowd.
They included State Rep. Sharon Chung, D-Bloomington, Normal Mayor Chris Koos, Bloomington mayoral candidate Dan Brady and several other countywide leaders. Chung and Koos are both seeking office again.
“It feels like the community is coming together. It feels like a place that we all want to live, where we are on the same team,” said Sara Isbell, pastor of Wesley United Methodist Church in Bloomington.
“We may vote differently, we may think differently, we may have different opinions about things, but we can all work together on this, because kindness is universal.”
