Election Day Reflections from a Nuns on the Bus Rider
By Sister Barbara Pfarr, SSND
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| In this photo provided by Sister Barbara Pfarr, SSND, Sister Simone Campbell, SSS, executive director of NETWORK and Sister Barbara Pfarr, SSND stand in front of the bus during the Nuns on the Bus “We the People, We the Voters” tour extension in Wisconsin. |
It’s 10 p.m. on November 4. As we wait for election returns, the wrapper on the “Nun Bus” is being removed. We left the extra food and office supplies with Sister Pat Rogers at the St. Ann Center for Women in Milwaukee, which was our last stop. The tour covered 11 states; had 58 nuns who rode along; and received more than 5,000 media hits, including an interview of me on WTMJ. [See link provided at the end of this article]. I rode the bus in Wisconsin from Nov. 1-4 but the tour began on Sept. 17 in Iowa.
At every stop, we were met by cheering crowds of faithful folks who have been doing the hard work of political engagement. We would speak a bit to encourage and thank them. We invited people to sign post cards that Network will deliver to our legislators in Washington, D.C., in January. The cards will remind our lawmakers that people back home are expecting them to make a difference for the poor and disenfranchised and we're paying attention to their progress.
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| In this photo provided by Sister Barbara Pfarr, SSND, Sister Simone Campbell, SSS, executive director of NETWORK, speaks at the Get Out the Vote Rally held in Milwaukee on Nov. 3. |
We gave out buttons and invited them to sign the bus. Sometimes we held a town hall event to give people a chance to talk about their concerns and dreams for our country. Sometimes we made phone calls to remind people to vote. This afternoon, we joined 250 high school kids in Racine who had permission from their parents to be off school to canvass the city, urging people to vote and offering a ride to the polls, if they needed it.
The tour held at least three events a day to remind people that democracy matters and our faith has a lot to do with it. We started each day with meditation and faith sharing. Ended each day with “tradition” and more faith sharing. Always, at events we talked about how important it is to be politically engaged if we want to preserve our democracy and live out our faith. Always, we urged an end to political divisiveness and to work for the common good. Sister Simone Campbell always reminded us that as important Tuesday is for the vote, the real hard work begins on Wednesday, no matter who wins. We the people must find ways to help create the more perfect union.
We were ahead of schedule at one point today, and stopped at a coffee shop. A woman walked in and asked if the nuns on the bus were here. She saw the bus on the street and wanted to thank us. We talked. Then I went back to the bus with her so she could sign it. When we got to the other side of the bus, a young mother was there all alone, with a child in her arms, signing both her and the baby's names and taking a selfie of themselves by the bus. No fanfare – she just wanted to be part of the action.
What is the hunger that brings hundreds of people out to see a handful of old nuns and a colorful bus? I don't know, but I'm enormously grateful to have been part of it and my heart is warmed, filled, inspired.
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