Pastor Chris Morgan leads a contemporary service at Christ United Methodist Church in Bethel Park, Pa., on the Sunday after Election Day. The church developed a sermon series called “Do Unto Others” to help parishioners navigate political divisions after the election. Justin Merriman for NPR
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BETHEL PARK, Pa. — Campaign lawn signs rarely bring people together from opposite sides of the political fence. But in the lead up to Election Day, some purple-colored ones in this Pittsburgh suburb did just that.
The signs are an attempt to transcend the nation’s bitter divisions. Instead of touting a candidate, they promoted a value: the Bible’s Golden Rule.
“Do unto others as you would have them do unto you,” the signs read.
Christ United Methodist Church here in Bethel Park distributed the lawn signs as part of what Pastor Chris Morgan calls a movement for kindness, built around a handful of sermons as well as hundreds of purple “Do Unto Others” T-shirts. He says he got the idea from Kansas City’s Church of the Resurrection, the largest United Methodist church in the country.
The choir sings during one of four services at Christ United Methodist Church in Bethel Park, Pa. The church was jolted last summer after it was revealed that the man who nearly killed now-President-elect Donald Trump lived just 2 1/2 blocks away. Justin Merriman for NPR
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Morgan — parishioners call him Pastor Chris — says his congregation is pretty evenly divided between Democrats and Republicans. He drafted a sermon series to give his flock some spiritual tools to help them navigate the country’s divisions, the November election results and beyond.
“We wanted to remind our people that no matter what happened, whether Trump won or Harris won, our job as followers of Christ is to remember that God’s bigger than all of this,” says Morgan, who is 49. “Our call as followers of Christ is to show people kindness and respect and love and humility and compassion, no matter what.”
Pastor Chris Morgan holds 8-month-old Elliott Holdren after his baptism as his mother, Megan and father, Matt, look on during a traditional service at Christ United Methodist Church, in Bethel Park, Pa. Justin Merriman for NPR
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Christ Church offers four services each weekend, drawing about 1,000 people in person and online. Sunday’s contemporary services feature a crack rock band in which Pastor Chris occasionally plays keyboards.
In July, after planning for the sermon series was well underway, political violence hit close to home. President-elect Donald Trump was nearly killed by a rooftop shooter during a campaign event in Butler, about 40 miles north of here.
“It had a pretty big impact on the congregation because the person that made the attempt lived two and a half blocks from here,” Pastor Chris recalls.
Parishioners at Christ Church say the Do Unto Others lawn signs have sparked conversations that might not otherwise have occurred. Tommy Longenecker, an avid Trump supporter, was blowing leaves last month when he spotted one of the signs in the yard of his next-door neighbor, Bob Lewis, a Harris supporter and member of Christ Church. Longenecker walked over and read the Bible passage.
Bob Lewis, a member of Christ United Methodist Church, stands in his yard in suburban Pittsburgh near a “Do Unto Others” sign. Christ Church launched a “kindness” campaign ahead of the presidential election, urging respect and love and humility to help parishioners navigate the country’s bitter political differences. Justin Merriman for NPR
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“I really like your sign,'” said Longenecker, who is 56 and a nonpracticing Catholic.
Longenecker said the Do Unto Others message resonated because people had repeatedly torn down his Trump signs — including one that measured 8 feet by 4 feet.
The two men have been neighbors for nearly eight years, but this was the first time they’d really talked about their faith.
“I like the fact that we can still get along and not be hateful and mean to each other,” Lewis recalls Longenecker saying.
Bob Lewis, a member of Christ Church, stands in his yard near his neighbors Trump flag on Wednesday, November 13, 2024 in Upper St. Clair, Pa. Lewis put up a “Do Unto Other” sign that allowed him and his neighbor to see beyond their different political believes to be civil to each other. The church has a sermon series called “Do Unto Others,” which is designed to help people on either side of the political divide navigate the division post-election. Justin Merriman for NPR
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Some parishioners say the Do Unto Others message has helped them manage relationships with people who have different views.
“I’m engaging with my significant other much differently,” says parishioner Patti Goyette.
Goyette recalled one sermon where Pastor Chris spoke about becoming stranded on a long bike ride because he hadn’t had enough to eat or drink. The sermon was a turning point for Goyette, who questioned whether she was doing enough to nourish her relationship. She said she changed her approach.
Patti Goyette, 50, stands with her husband, Will Frame, 53, and 6-year-old daughter Phoebe at Christ United Methodist Church. Goyette says the church’s “Do Unto Others” sermon series has helped her navigate difficult political conversations with people in her personal life. Justin Merriman for NPR
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“I haven’t gone into a confrontation with a higher heart rate and clenched muscles,” says Goyette, 50, who works for a local riverboat company. “I listen and I hear, and when you do that, people stop yelling and start talking and it makes a difference.”
While some parishioners found the Do Unto Other program helpful, others had reservations. Tony Reda, who ushers at one of the church services, thinks the sermon series encouraged people to express their political opinions.
“I felt like going to church was an hour of peace and quiet and trying to be closer to Christ,” says Reda, 61. “I felt like that sermon series was bringing politics into the church“
Betty Preite, left, and Bonnie Wieland, right, sing along with a six-piece rock band during a contemporary service at Christ United Methodist Church. The sprawling church complex covers two acres and features four services each weekend. Justin Merriman for NPR
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Reda, who works as an insurance broker, says some in the congregation openly criticized Trump, which he found especially disturbing following Trump’s near-assassination.
“There’s people that are flat-out saying, I can’t believe they missed,” Reda recalled.
If Reda thought the sermon series went too far, Stephanie White, a mother of two, thought it didn’t go far enough. She’s a big fan of Pastor Chris, but wishes the church had called out Trump for what she says is hateful rhetoric. Failing to do so, White says, creates a false equivalence.
White has no illusions about the Democratic Party’s shortcomings. “But can we also talk about the terrible things that Trump says?” she said during an after-service coffee hour. “The reaction you get [from some Republicans] is ‘It’s both sides. It’s both sides.’ “
White says she is concerned about what the next four years could mean for friends who are trans or people of color.
Stephanie White, a member of Christ United Methodist Church, says she supports Pastor Chris Morgan but wishes that the “Do Unto Others” sermon series would’ve called out President-elect Donald Trump for what she sees as hateful rhetoric. Morgan says the series was not about calling out either political side, but helping congregants treat each other with kindness and civility in such a divided age. Justin Merriman for NPR
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“It’s just a lot of emotions packed into a really small piece of time,” she said as she cried. “And it’s very scary what could happen.”
Pastor Chris knows it’s challenging to lead a big-tent church in such fraught times. He says the Do Unto Others program isn’t about calling out sides or making statements about anyone’s morality.
“Outside of the pulpit. I personally will stand up for what I think is right and what I think is wrong, and I have done those things,” Morgan says. “My job as a pastor when I am preaching is to help people grow in their faith and become as much like Jesus as we can.”
Morgan says a key to the campaign for kindness is to recognize we can’t control what others say or do, but we can control how we respond.