Mark Ford is the Pastor of Care with One Church in Columbus, Ohio.
I have the honor of serving as the Pastor of Care at One Church in Columbus, Ohio and today I’m called to reflect on the polarization and division in our country. Why? Because people of faith across our traditions are hungry for relief from the forces of division that seek to widen the cultural divides. And in this season of renewal, I’m moved to invite others to join me in the service of healing our divides and holding each other in the spirit of forgiveness, care and grace.
We see those forces work to divide us around issues such as the reversal of the Roe vs Wade ruling, gender identity, parental rights in public education and economic turbulence. They frame us as the Divided States of America. The culture of “friendly fire” is anything but kind. The digital bullets for our modern-day cultural wars are shot from Social and Network media outlets that gaslight the towering inferno of hate, division and incivility through their platforms and the 24-hour news cycles each day.
In this uncivil war, one of the big questions I have been forced to wrestle with is, how can I join with other faith leaders to provide both a prophetic voice and pastoral care for a country living under the stress of polarized division? There is no one answer or solution that will unite the diversities of world views and faith traditions, but this moment in time offers our nation an opportunity to declare a national vitriolic “cease fire” and begin a fresh civil conversation. And I see an opportunity to join with other faith leaders to offer this kind of healing space through a National Week of Conversation from April 17 – 22nd.
Most major religions perpetuate the principles from the Law of Moses, or what is often referred to as the 10 Commandments. Jesus took those 10 laws of love and summarized them into One Great Commandment that calls us to: Love God and our neighbor. Reflecting on ways to live out this Great Commandment can be helpful when friends and families gather to celebrate each other and our faith in God. Choosing to focus on the beautiful shafts of light that emit from the precious gems of our diverse world, can ignite a sense of hope, as we look at and discuss our differences respectfully, with curiosity, grace, humility and love for each other.
A delicious meal is often a shared experience that is connected with our Holy Days and is a picture of what most people view as a symbol of all that is good about connecting to celebrate one’s faith, family and friends. Memories are made around the table as each shares a story or “their story” which deepens their affection.
In the spirit of meaningful conversations, what if each of us would provide an opportunity for setting the table for a conversation with people who we know, but are different from us? What if the ground rules were that each one at the table was invited to share three defining moments in their life, good or bad, that shaped their world view and made them who they have become? What if each one at the table could ask a question that would open a window of understanding and bring a greater closeness and connection?
During this Spring season, when flowers begin to bloom and the Sun provides brighter days, many Americans will stop to reflect on religious themes of rebirth or renewal. Many will remember defining moments from their faith history and this provides an opportunity for focusing on principles from spiritual teachings like the Golden Rule that calls us to “give to others the quality of kindness and respect that we desire for ourselves.”
My invitation today is that we people of faith demonstrate the power of these teachings in our lives to others across our differences. Let us serve as healing lights and beacons of hope through engaging each other, our congregations and communities during the National Week of Conversation and beyond.
U.S. President Donald Trump boards Air Force One on August 14, 2026 at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland. Trump is traveling to Long Island to tour law enforcement facilities in Nassau County and rally support for local Republican candidates ahead of the upcoming midterm elections
Travel Far Enough, You Meet Yourself
Is it possible that our President has simply not traveled enough?
Born and raised in Queens and attending Fordham University in the Bronx, Donald Trump has no record of traveling outside New York until he was over 20, when he transferred to a college in the neighboring state of Pennsylvania. Were his formative years amiss, then, in his learning about other places and other people?
Is his view akin to the famous New Yorker cover by Saul Steinberg, an illustration of the United States with New York City as the epicenter of the country and the Hudson River the border of the known world? We can now at least add Washington, D.C., and Mar-a-Lago to the map of “the realm.”
Our President has now traveled some, but what we recommend is another kind of travel. Not a state-sponsored trip or a venture to scout locations for future Trump Towers. This would be a genuine travel experience, enriching and eye-opening, showcasing other cultures and ways of living.
It will extend far beyond viewing military parades, hobnobbing with such “understanding” world leaders as Kim Jong Un, or taking tea with the King.
WHERE, then, should the President go? As Elon Musk’s Starship spacecraft is not yet ready to take passengers to Mars, perhaps he could explore our own vast country?
Maybe he could travel to “flyover country,” the farming states, where his ying-yanging tariffs and trade restrictions have played havoc with rural economies. Or possibly to California, number one in homeless U. S. citizens, and while there, regale homeless veterans (approximately 32,500 nationwide) with tales of his brave exploits invading and bombing foreign countries.
Or he might tour the Great Lakes, and rename the other four?
WHEN should he go? This will be tough, as he is very busy building his ballroom and renaming bodies of water.
How about a trip in early November, around the midterm elections? Despite the long-discredited accusation of widespread voter fraud, it would be reassuring to know he might be so caught up divvying out ladles of soup in a soup kitchen somewhere that he wouldn’t remember to deploy the military for “election security.”
HOW will he travel? He should definitely not take his Qatari-donated, newly renovated 747, especially after last time, when he had to be smuggled off clandestinely in a catering truck. It’s unlikely any traveling companions, like the Secretary of State or of the Treasury, are going to fall for the ruse a second time. Besides, we may need those people. No more decoys!
Perhaps the President could fly commercially, although this likely would expose him to undue suffering. Without gold bathroom fixtures and maple wood floors, the trip will be no “Luxury Experience.” If only he still had his “Trump Shuttle,” bought with a massive loan he later defaulted on, saying then, “I’m smart. I got out at a good time.”
Considering the potential pitfalls, maybe it’s best the President travel incognito, disguised perhaps as an elderly woman wearing a lot of bronzer.
Wherever, whenever, however: our President needs a vacation.
Moreover, we need a vacation from him.
If the President refuses our travel suggestions, here’s another idea:
Let’s get him a pet! He has never owned a pet. As we know with our children, pets teach essential life lessons: compassion and empathy; they instill a sense of responsibility. There is a well-established connection between those who can care for a pet and those who can care for people.
So, which pet should we choose? A puppy? A kitten? A boa constrictor?
Imagine, the President may even decide he likes having a pet. After all, what is more obedient than a well-trained dog, besides possibly the Cabinet? And what is more docile than a sweet kitten, other than plausibly the Supreme Court?
The President may even become more mellow with a pet afoot and less likely to slap tariffs on our allies, or attempt to annex our neighbors, or bully our Congress. (Realizing, of course, a bully requires active participation from the bullied to maintain his status.)
Maybe we should do both: get the President a pet and devise a travel plan for him. (Do you think we could possibly convince him to leave his phone at home?)
Let’s go for it! After all:
Travel far enough, you meet yourself. (David Mitchell)
And for our President, that would likely be the most profound discovery of all.
Amy Lockard is an Iowa resident who regularly contributes to regional newspapers and periodicals. She is working on the second of a four-book fictional series based on Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice."