An Open Letter to My Community

On Tuesday, August 15, 2017, Shannon Marie Leppert posted an alert on Facebook for Kulm, North Dakota, a town of 350 people, and the surrounding communities. She warned that her grandfather, Gordon Winrod, an anti-Semitic cult leader convicted of kidnapping several of his grandchildren, was resuming his former teachings in the old Kulm high school, which had been recently purchased by his daughter, Laura Leppert. The following day, Winrod walked out of the school and confirmed this to a reporter. 
I live only a block away from the old school. A neighbor sent me Shannon Marie's post two days into an eight-day family road trip. My heart sank, and I felt sick to be so far when my community was beginning to process something so challenging.
The fact is, there are many difficult things from which rural America enjoys distance. At times this feels like a privilege, and we can sometimes forget that our country’s troubles are still our troubles in rural North Dakota. Today, Winrod and his followers are here, and the rubber has met the road. Suddenly, all the hateful rhetoric swirling around and dividing our country is not just coming through our television screens, it has come to our backyards.
It is right and good to be utterly intolerant of racial and ethnic prejudice and any hateful rhetoric, and I believe it will be the solidarity of a caring, inclusive community that ultimately overcomes exclusive and prejudicial ideology. The community of Kulm celebrated its 125th anniversary this year, which means our little town has been building the strength it will need to face a challenge like this for over a century. Times change, and the world looks different than it did 125 years ago, but the Kulm identity is rooted in something deeper.
But we cannot base all our hopes for an idyllic community on excluding what doesn’t fit in or doesn’t maintain peace. No matter the outcome for the old school, I believe we can and we must maintain our identity. Because the greatest tragedy is not that the Winrods are here, it is that Kulm would lose heart in the face of them. But I've said it before and I will say it again: never underestimate Kulm.
We CAN continue to be a model of the cooperative, caring, enthusiastic community we treasure and wish to see replicated in the world. We ARE strong enough to hold together and hold onto our identity.
I am grateful to Shannon Marie for alerting us to the reality in our midst. Since reading her post, I have cried, cursed, and prayed for the strength to meet the moment as Christ would. I'm not sure what that will look like yet, but I know Christ did not shut out the world or demonize it; he found a way to exist within and elevate it, always pointing to a better way. May we all seek wisdom on how to do the same.
*This post has been updated from its original version to add context for outside readers.