Democracy Needs You
Faith, Civic Life, and the Midterms
On this episode of the “Faithful Disruption” podcast, Trista Soendker-Nicholson takes part in a midterm election webinar and conversation with Leslie LeSieur, senior director of the Center for Ministry and Lay Training at Phillips. They discuss questions attendees have about the upcoming election and how faith is a part of the process. There are also midterm election resources available.
Election Season, Democracy and Staying Well for the Midterms
Resources from the Center for Religion in Public Life at Phillips Theological Seminary
OCT 22, 2026 (original publication date)
As the November midterm elections approach, the Center for Religion in Public Life has published conversations and reflections on civic life. Here are three places to start, along with two more resources for additional reading.
Basics
In “Civics 101”, Faithful Disruption podcast host Trista Soendker Nicholson talks with civics teacher Jessica Hill about the fundamentals of civic life ahead of the midterms. It is a useful refresher for anyone who wants to return to the fundamentals before voting.
Money matters
In “Climate Connections,” Nicholson interviews U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island. He argues that conservative “dark money” groups are corrupting the federal government to block climate action.
Take care
The post “Just… tired” begins with observations that people are “all just tired” after a session on staying connected with congregations during election season. The post names a series of news stories as a source of exhaustion. It argues that caring for yourself helps you keep doing faith-based and political work over the long term.
Trauma Stewardship: An Everyday Guide to Caring for Self While Caring for Others by Laura Van Dernoot Lipsky with Connie Burk is recommended. While it was published more than 20 years ago, addresses burnout without minimizing trauma. Learn more about the book.
Further reading
• Brennan Center for Justice: a series on threats to elections
• What We Are Reading: Election Edition, from the Center
Questions about the Center or these resources? Write to crpl@ptstulsa.edu (created with a little help from Claude AI).
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