LANCASTER, Pa. (AP) — The Rev. David Peck knows firsthand how communities torn apart by violence can be hollowed out by repeated destruction.

In his previous work as an Anglican church representative for international development, Peck saw in his trips to Africa how religious groups can be part of the problem but also part of the solution.

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

Opposing groups can find compromise by drawing on common spiritual traditions, Peck said. This could be a shared belief in compassion or recognition of the human dignity of everyone.

Historic St. Peck, rector of St. James’s Episcopal Church, realized “how resource-strapped people are incapable of creatively applying their faith to a conflictual political environment.”

“I really think we have the best tools” in spiritual traditions to confront these conflicts, he said. “We don’t have enough access to them and we don’t use them very effectively.”

That’s why this fall in St. He began a series of weekly meetings at St. James called “Thoughtful Citizenship.” It aims to help people take a deep breath — literally — and help people practice ancient prayer and meditation techniques that enable them to respond more consciously to conflict.

In the dim lighting of the church in downtown Lancaster last Tuesday evening, he led a guided meditation for about 50 people, including Episcopalians, Catholics and Quakers, who expressed their inner anxieties about the election.

“The hope of democracy in a deeply divided country is more thoughtful citizens,” Peck told the meeting. He called for “a more prayerful, thoughtful and participatory citizenship, better able to recognize the sins of our own parties in ourselves and other people, so that we can live, vote and debate more humbly.”

This does not mean giving up one’s strict political beliefs. But the program aims to help people develop the moral muscles that will enable them not to react quickly with anger to opposing views on social media or in real life.

Each week in the program, Peck gives a talk and then introduces participants to a classic prayer they can meditate on. One week it was the Lord’s Prayer. Future sessions will include the use of mantras from the Hindu tradition and the Metta Prayer from Buddhist practices.

On this particular evening in mid-October, he focused on the Jesus Prayer, which has been practiced by Eastern Orthodox priests for centuries.

He started with a talk that talked about Scripture, poetry, and even lyrics from the Rolling Stones. He then led the participants through a silent meditation period and then shared thoughts with an open microphone.

Participants said it was difficult to filter the hostility of the ongoing political campaign, but they valued the opportunity to learn more ways to respond from a position of spiritual calm and strength.

St. “We need this now more than ever,” said St. James member Timothea Kirchner.

“It was my job to try to bring good people with very different views together and help them find common ground,” he said, having previously worked as a district and public school administrator.

But today he said: “I think the speeches are very offensive. I just St. “I feel like a place like James has an obligation to make conversations happen again so they can find each other’s humanity.”

Dennis Downey, a Catholic who attended the service, said the lessons are useful for people of all religious traditions. “We have enough separation today,” Downey said. “We need things that will bring us together and provide some measure of hope and healing.”

During the session, Peck led participants in a silent meditation on the Jesus Prayer; it is a practice that involves saying a phrase repeated in rhythm with one’s breath: “Lord Jesus Christ, son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.”

This mantra-like statement, however serious, underscores a valuable political lesson; One’s own side is not always right and the other side is not always bad. Quoting the Rolling Stones’ classic “Sympathy for the Devil,” he said “you and I” were to blame for the Kennedy brothers’ assassinations.

Peck said the lyrics were a sobering reminder that “there’s not just something wrong with the bad people out there, but there’s also something wrong with me and the good people out there.”

While many fear the potential for violent conflict during and after the election, Peck is hopeful. He draws on the experience he gained years ago as secretary for international development on international development issues for the Archbishop of Canterbury, the leader of the global Anglican communion of which the Episcopal Church is a part. It was in this role that he saw the role of faith-based groups in Africa trying to bring peace in the midst of conflict.

He also noted that history’s faith-based freedom movements, led by Mahatma Gandhi and the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., had strong spiritual roots. In the Civil Rights Movement, churches and Christians received formal training in prayer and nonviolent practices.

“We have great academic work and resources on the internet, but they need to be taught and practiced in the community,” Peck said. “Even if we know this in our minds, it is a difficult task when we are under stress and distress.”

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