“The day after Donald Trump was elected president, the Rev. Susan Springer wrote to her congregation that they should strive to behave as Godly people who spread hope even though “the world is clasping its head in its hands and crying out in fear.”
That Sunday, one of the ushers at Springer’s church was Neil Gorsuch — soon to become President Trump’s nominee for the open spot on the Supreme Court.
Gorsuch has staked his own conservative positions on numerous issues, including topics of religious concern: In cases involving the art supply chain Hobby Lobby and the Catholic order Little Sisters of the Poor, both of which eventually reached the Supreme Court, Gorsuch ruled in favor of religious conservatives who said the Affordable Care Act infringed on their religious freedom to not pay for contraception.
But at church, he often hears a more liberal point of view.
He belongs to St. John’s Episcopal Church in Boulder, Colo., the Episcopal diocese of Colorado confirmed on Wednesday. Church bulletins show that the judge has been an usher three times in recent months. His wife Louise frequently leads the intercessory prayer and reads the weekly Scripture at Sunday services, and his daughters assist in ceremonial duties during church services as acolytes.
If he joins the Supreme Court, Gorsuch as an Episcopalian would be the first Protestant member since 2010. Five current members are Catholic and three are Jewish, and the late Justice Antonin Scalia was Catholic as well.”
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To me, it says something very positive that Judge Gorsuch can be a member of and participate in a group that does not necessarily share all of his views. And, it says something about his church that they are able to welcome him even though many might disagree with him politically. My wife and I happen to go to a modest sized community-based church in Alexandria, VA that welcomes all people and has both prominent local Democrats and Republicans among our membership.
In some ways, Judge Grosuch reminds me of one of my wonderful former colleagues who was a conservative judge (with a big heart) but was very committed to the mission of his socially liberal Episcopal parish. He was out there delivering sandwiches to the homeless and helping the church to help those less fortunate all the time and was a very loyal participant in the religious services and the intellectual life of his church. And, I always had the impression that the members of his congregation really appreciated him because he gave them insights that they might not have thought about otherwise.
After sports and politics, theology was probably the next most discussed topic at our numerous Arlington Judges lunches. Perhaps for obvious reasons, we tried to keep a lid on the discussions of Immigration Law or save them for “chambers.”
PWS
02/05/17