The priest-changer teaches methods of survival in elections

By PETER SMITH

LANCASTER, Pa. (AP) — The Rev. David Peck knows firsthand how divided communities wracked by violence can be torn apart by repeated devastation.

In his previous work as the Church of England’s international development representative, Peck saw during his trips to Africa how religious groups could be part of the problem, but also part of the solution.

Now Peck is a pastor in central Pennsylvania, a state at the epicenter of a bitter presidential campaign that has fueled deep anxiety, conflicts among families and friends, even fears of election-related violence.

Opposing groups can find reconciliation by drawing on shared spiritual traditions, Peck said. It can be a shared belief in mercy or recognition of the human dignity of all.

He realized “how few resources people have to creatively apply their faith in a conflicted political landscape,” said Peck, rector of the historic St. James Episcopal Church.