Edmond Life and Leisure - November 6, 2025

By Kimberly Burk

For Edmond Life and Leisure

During Sunday services at Liberty Church Edmond, “we try to encourage people to stay off their cell phones,” Pastor Paul Blair said with a laugh. He knows it’s a tough ask.

“Technology is a benefit in some areas, but hurts us in others,” Blair said.Among people of faith, social media has become a vital platform for sharing testimony, words of encouragement and pleas for prayers. It’s also rife with personal opinions about the intersection of religion and politics, and some church members look to their denominations and their pastors for guidance about how to vote.

“I don’t believe it’s my place to endorse a candidate from the pulpit,” said the Rev. Dr. Tiffany A. Nagel Monroe, senior pastor of Edmond First United Methodist Church.

“I think that clouds my ability to serve God,” Monroe said. “I am focusing on Scripture and focusing on God’s grace. It really is about seeing them as a child of God and who they are.

”Among his parishioners at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church, “I don’t know what they vote or how they vote,” said the Rev. William Novak, pastor of the large Edmond church.

“I preach the gospel,” Novak said. “I don’t preach politics. I don’t preach political parties.”

At Liberty Church, Blair said, “We talk about everything. I don’t talk about politics all the time. I just don’t shy away from it.”

Blair said “every area of life has been covered to some degree in Scripture. And that includes civil government. We need to know what it was created for, and what it was not created for.”

Political disagreements are causing pain, Monroe acknowledges.

“I see it in the church, in the community, in families, in marriages,” she said.

“We’ve gotten to a place where we can’t talk,” Monroe said. “How do we bring friends back together? We are better together.”

Local pastors can set an example of civility by developing friendships among themselves, said Novak, who is beginning his third year at St. John’s.

“When I arrived at St. John’s, I called up some of the pastors of other Christian denominations and I introduced myself,” Novak said.

“We visited about all sorts of things. We do a lot of the similar things. We just have different theologies. It was good for me to reach out to the other ministers.”Last November, Monroe attended a dinner organized by the Interfaith Alliance of Oklahoma.

“A variety of faiths were represented,” she said.

“That was a really good opportunity to be neighbors and build relationships. We learned more about local issues. There were questions placed on the tables to get us engaging in conversation with one another, such as ‘Tell me something about your faith that’s really special to you.’”

Interfaith work has a long tradition, Monroe said.

“John Wesley is well known for saying, ‘if we can’t think alike, can we not love alike?’”

Blair said he has several pastor friends in Edmond.

“I reach out to them periodically. But it seems like we can never find time to get together.”

Engaging in community service can help church members focus on what matters most,

Monroe said.

“This year, we worked on helping to feed children over the summer who might not have access to food and housing and other resources,” Monroe said. “We partnered with Project 66 and the Kaleo Foundation. No matter your economic status, you are a child of God. People in every economic bracket are hurting today.”

At St. John the Baptist, “we run a ministry called the Samaritan House,” Novak said.

“We help people in need. Anyone who comes to us can receive food assistance, and rental assistance. It’s open five mornings a week on our property. It’s an extraordinary ministry to the community. The members of the parish support this ministry and they are very generous.”

In the pulpit, pastors must strike a balance between sharing the unconditional love of Jesus Christ and preaching the gospel of repentance.

“God doesn’t force himself on anyone,” Blair said. “But as Christians it should certainly be our desire to be obedient and do what’s right in every area of life. It’s still something we should strive for.

When we do things His way, it always works better.” With certain political and social issues, Blair said, “I don’t take a neutral position,” specifically mentioning his opposition to abortion and to transgender surgery for children.

Novak said the Catholic Church does not endorse any political party because “none of the parties embrace the Church fully. We can’t endorse a party because none of them stand for the Catholic teachings entirely.”

But, Novak said, “We are definitely pro-life in our preaching and our teaching. We pray peacefully in front of abortion clinics.”

Monroe said there is “a diverse group of people in our congregation, people who vote all over the political spectrum. We believe in open doors, open minds and open hearts. All are welcome at the table of the Lord. We just think that all of God’s people are sacred.”