The Rev. Matthew Best of St. Stephen, New Kingstown, LAMPa Policy Council member and former congressional staffer, will lead a five-week online course, “Doing” politics through the lens of faith, on Thursdays starting March 26.

The online course, being offered through the Collaborative Mission Center, a partnership of Lower Susquehanna Synod, Upper Susquehanna Synod and the Episcopal Diocese of Central Pennsylvania, will be offered from 7-8 p.m. each week. Through real-life examples, stories, and scripture, students will examine their own beliefs about politics and faith, and come away ready to “do” politics in a faith-filled way.

Prior to his ordination, Best worked for: US Representative Phil English (1998-1999), Washington, DC; was a Legislative Assistant for The Redding Firm, a lobbying firm on Capital Hill, Washington DC (1999-2000); had his own government affairs firm (2000-2002); worked for a PA State Rep. (2002-2003); done strategy and campaign management for a variety of candidates over the years; served as President of Best Solutions – coaching and consulting (2003-2009); and worked for Project SHARE – a Carlisle based food pantry (2009 – 2013) initially as the Volunteer Coordinator and then Operations Manager for about 3 years.

Read more about Pastor Best.

The course is listed on this page. Or, you can register directly here.

Week 1 – “What is politics really?”
Week 2 – “The Old Testament and politics”
Week 3 – “The New Testament and politics”
Week 4 – “Politics and faith for today”
Week 5 – “How we ‘do’ politics today”

The Zoom sessions will be recorded and then posted online so students can catch up if they missed a session. According to Deacon Marsha Roscoe, director of the collaborative mission center, the online learning environment will provide the opportunity to hold discussions throughout the week, respond to questions and interact in such a way that a true learning community is formed.