WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — A vigil for justice at Field Park on Sunday afternoon was non-partisan by design.

 

But it was political by necessity.

 

About three dozen people stood out in a cold rain for the interfaith event sponsored by First Congregational Church. All heeded the organizers' call to leave their partisan signage at home and not talk about the election that has dominated civic discourse for more than a year.

 

While electioneering was not the focus, the results of elections were germane as participants thought about how we can become a more just society.

 

"It is impossible to move through this world and not be political," the Rev. Mark Seifried, First Congregational's interim pastor, said after the vigil. "We all benefit from the politics of the United States. And some people suffer from the politics of the United States.

 

"And we all are political beings. We just asked that we would set aside our political parties for today, to not name any names of any politicians running, and just inject hope into the people who gathered together. And for us to pray that peace and justice would be enacted through us."

 

In addition to performances by blues vocalist Gina Coleman and Misty Blues, Seifried was joined at the microphone by three members of the chaplain's office of Williams College: the Rev. Valerie Bailey Fischer, Imam Sharif Rosen and Rabbi Seth Wax.

 

"Peace and justice, in all of our traditions, has always been non-partisan," Seifried said. "So that's what we sought out."

 

First Congregational congregant Margaret McComish also took a turn at the mic, offering "A Prayer for Conscience and Courage in Times of Struggle" by theologian Joan Chittister.

 

"Lead us beyond fear, apathy and defensiveness to new hope in You and to hearts full of faith," the prayer reads, in part. "Give us the conscience it takes to comprehend what we're facing, to see what we're looking at and to say what we see so that others, hearing us, may also brave the pressure that comes with being out of public step."

 

Fischer talked about how difficult the last four years have been for many people.

 

"We are weary and tired of having a dose of bad news with our coffee and our breakfast, right?" she asked the crowd.

 

She offered biblical readings that demonstrate that the God of scripture is a God of justice, and "God's kingdom is one of justice and peace."

 

"As I'm reading these words, move aside the fear and anxiety and be reminded of how much God loves us all," Fischer said. "And evidence of God's love is justice and peace."

 

Seifried said that while members of his First Congregational Church may have definite partisan leanings, they keep them separate from their spiritual gatherings.

 

"When we get together as a community of faith, we don't talk about our political preferences," he said. "We talk about what God's agenda is for love and mercy and compassion to work through us."

 

He agreed that sometimes it can be hard to walk that line of advocating for change that, of necessity, has to happen in the political realm without focusing on partisan politics.

 

"I practice spiritual discipline," he said. "And the word discipline is behind that. It takes discipline to be a person of faith. It takes discipline for us to love our neighbor no matter what their politics are. And it takes discipline for us to move through the world as peaceful beings, and that's why we practice the faith together as a community."