Coffee, Donuts, and Voting!

OCTOBER 24, 2026

It was one of the last sunny October Saturdays. And fall colors were at their height when 40 parishioners from St. Thomas More and neighboring St. John the Evangelist and St. Peter Claver strode from the church and out into the sunshine hoisting signs proclaiming “Love Thy Neighbor with Thy Vote” or “Feed the Hungry, Welcome the Stranger, Heal the Sick—Use Your Vote.”

This band of poster bearers marched from St. Thomas More Church along Summit singing “We are marching with the light of God,” and later, “We are voting with the light of God.” In the intervals, call and response chants were echoed: “What Do We Want? Early Voting. When Do We Want It? Now!"

It was a spectacle that attracted waves and horn honks from passing cars. The mood was jubilant; the marchers were in good form. The one-hour action was the result of the 3-week Justice in Action training series, Public Christian Discipleship—about how one can demonstrate one’s values as a person of faith in the public forum.

The march was preceded by a rally in Ignatius Hall where Pastor Fr. R.J. spoke to the group about the importance of what they were about to undertake and how well it aligned with the words from the first two chapters of Pope Leo XIV’s encyclical “Magnifica Humanitas.” Fr. R.J then blessed the “piligrims” before they began their journey.

One of the speakers laid it out for us before we marched. His name is David Greene, an STM Parishioner along with his wife Emily and his son Julian, who is an eighth grader at STM School. Here are his reflections:

"Hello everybody. My name is David Greene. I’m a member of St. Thomas More’s Justice in Action team and have been a member of the parish for over 20 years. When I first got involved in faith-based justice work, way back in graduate school, I realized something about my faith. We recognize that faith is about belief, yes, but it is also deeply about action. What I realized about my faith is that it didn’t feel authentic to me unless I was out in the world actually doing it. I like to call it “wrestling down in the mud.” Faith is not a high-minded, ivory tower thing. It is a very real, get yourself dirty with challenging, hard work sort of thing. That can take a lot of forms.

"This past year I’ve been angry. Intensely, viscerally furious about what is happening in our community. My family and I witnessed a kidnapping from a bus stop first-hand. Right in front of us. I decided I wasn’t going to stand for that. I protested, I marched, I observed, even followed ICE. I chased them out of our neighborhoods. I did this because of my faith, because my core faith values were so fundamentally violated. We welcome the stranger, we don’t destroy their lives. We believe in the dignity of every person, that no one is “bad” or any of the other horrible things people have been called. It is no different with voting for me. Voting is one of the strongest cultural norms we have about identifying who is and is not part of our community.

"Yes, we have people working toward citizenship who can not yet vote. But there is a process for them to get there if they want it – they are part of the community. Yes, we have undocumented people who don’t yet have a clear path to citizenship, but as a person of faith I believe it is God’s will that we create those paths, because we welcome the stranger. We grow the community. This history of this country has been an inexorable march toward increasing our rights, making those rights accessible to more and more people, becoming more and more inclusive. Now we have our own government working to restrict voting, deciding who is and is not a part of our community. There are many ways this is being done and I don’t have time to explain it all right now, but it is happening and has been happening for years, even decades.

"Enough is enough. Christ’s call is always to love. I will not let those who believe in exclusion and hate define what it is to be Christian. I am ready to go out there and claim my faith publicly, to say, “No! White Christian Nationalism is not Christian at all! This is what being Christian is about: Loving. Sacrificing. Publicly and loudly defending people I may not even know.” Because that is what Christ commands us to do. Then, of course, there is the actual voting. Why do we vote? I vote because I want to see a society that reflects my faith values. I want to build the City of God. I want quality health care for everyone. I want excellent education for our kids. I want resources more equitably shared. I want a better us. Just voting isn’t enough. But it is necessary. And everyone, everyone should have a voice in who we become together. That’s why I’m here today and why I’m going out there with my sign proclaiming my faith, because I want everyone else to see that they matter and that we have their backs."

Reflection and photos provided by parishioner Arline Datu.

We are always looking for ways to give you, our parishioners, the opportunity to share your experiences! If you would like to submit your story, please email Marie at mvalois@morecommunity.org

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Coffee, Donuts, and Voting!

OCTOBER 24, 2026