Dear Mr. President,
As usual you continue to be in my prayers as we Orthodox Christians pray for every civil authority and our Armed Forces. May God grant you wisdom to lead us all to that which is right, good, and decent.
Please consider the times we live in and help us all find common ground. Emotions are frayed, people are weary of soul, and a kind of sadness has begun to creep across our country. Shouters and antagonists are having their wishes fulfilled but the many of us who want to find peace, concord, compromise, and unity are hardly ever heard above the din. Those who wish to live in honor of the law but also in mercy and basic concord with those around us are being shouted down and it seems as if there is no one to speak for us.
I understand and respect that you took an oath but please don’t forget the Law higher even than the Constitution and the Judge greater than the Supreme Court and as you consider what to do and how to act remember all of our accountability to that jurisdiction as well. I encourage you to take the time in your busy schedule not just for planning the next steps or coming pieces of legislation but also for reflection in the presence of God and the reality of things eternal and not just the temporal.
I say these things out of great respect for your office but also with the hope you will find in our Lord Jesus Christ that which wealth, success, or earthly honors can never match, namely grace, peace, and salvation. Your legacy may matter for a short time, but your soul endures forever and please also consider that in how you serve us all as President.
Thank you for your time and consideration. I presume these letters never actually find your personal desk, but my prayer is that somehow the message will still find a way. My encouragement for you to be just and good in an eternal sense of that word also comes with an assurance that you will be in my prayers and that in the swirl of history you will find both grace and the Giver.
In Christ,
Fr John Chagnon
The Beautiful Path 