When The Government Shuts Down

A Meditation by Rev. Cameron Trimble

“The people groan as they search for bread; they have sold their treasures for food to keep themselves alive. ‘Look, Lord, and consider, for I am despised.’” — Lamentations 1:11

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This morning, the U.S. government stands shuttered. A shutdown like this is not merely a bureaucratic glitch or a momentary pause—it is a rupture in the covenant between the state and the people it serves.

Hundreds of thousands of federal workers are being furloughed and fired. Programs for nutrition, housing, healthcare, and public safety are suspended or dramatically curtailed. Aid to children, veterans, and the unhoused has been thrown into uncertainty. Once again, we are watching a dangerous game played with the livelihoods of everyday people, all while the architects of Project 2025 continue their relentless march to destroy our country.

On the Housing and Urban Development website, an official notice now blames “The Radical Left” for “inflicting massive pain on the American people” in pursuit of a so-called “$1.5 trillion wish list.”¹ This kind of rhetoric, posted on a government platform, is unprecedented. It is propaganda cloaked in bureaucracy. It’s not just a warning sign of authoritarian drift. It’s an alarm bell.

We are living through a moment when foundational systems are being hollowed out. Too often, the chaos is not accidental—it is strategic. The very idea of a functioning public sector is being undermined by those who want to replace shared responsibility with unregulated power, empathy with grievance, justice with fear.

So what does faithfulness look like in this hour?

We reclaim the spiritual truth that governance, at its heart, is a sacred trust. It is meant to protect the vulnerable, to hold power accountable, to foster belonging and common life. It is meant to serve—not dominate.

When that trust is broken, we must not turn away. We must not grow numb. We must speak clearly, act justly, and love ferociously. We must remember that compassion is a form of resistance, care is a public practice and truth-telling is a spiritual discipline.

The shutdown may silence phone lines, freeze programs, and close doors, but it cannot extinguish the sacred work of community. We still feed each other. We still tell the truth. We still build the world we long for.

We are in this together,

Cameron

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Reflection Questions

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1. What does this shutdown reveal about the health of our democracy—and the soul of our nation?

2. Where are you witnessing compassion and public care in your community?

3. What part of the commons are you willing to protect?

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A Prayer for the Day

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When the System Shuts Down

God of justice and mercy,
When the systems built to serve falter and fail,
Let us not forget that love does not shut down.
Your compassion does not close its doors.
Your presence is not furloughed.
Your justice does not delay.

While elected leaders trade blame like currency,
We pray for those who will feel this wound the deepest:
The single parent who relies on food assistance,
The elder waiting on a delayed benefit check,
The child whose school lunch might not arrive.

Teach us again that governance is not confined to marble halls.
It lives in every choice we make to care, to give, to protect.
In the face of shutdowns,
Make of us an open people.
May our tables stretch,
Our compassion widen,
And our commitment to the common good never cease.

Amen.

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Spiritual Practice

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Practice the Commons

In a time when the public good is neglected, our spiritual practice is to reclaim and participate in the commons.

1. Name what has been privatized. Take ten minutes to reflect on areas of life that once were shared—public land, clean water, accessible healthcare—and how they’ve been enclosed, extracted, or commodified.

2. Choose one act of communal restoration. Maybe it’s organizing a meal for furloughed workers. Donating to a food pantry. Offering childcare. Picking up trash at a local park. Showing up at a town hall meeting. No act is too small when done in the spirit of the whole.

3. Pray with your hands. As you engage in your chosen act, pray not just with your words but with your body. Let your movement become prayer. Let your labor be liturgy.

Become part of the counter-narrative: A people who do not wait for justice to be legislated, but enact it, together, creatively, boldly, in the absence of political will.

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Upcoming Events That Might Be of Interest…

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NEW!!!!!!!!!!!! October 8-9, 2025, 7-8:30pm ET ONLINE Event- Counterpoint: A Response to Peter Thiel’s Antichrist - For four straight Mondays, tech billionaire Peter Thiel is convening a private series in the heart of Silicon Valley on his obsession with the Antichrist. This peculiar and troubling theological fixation is not just eccentric—it reveals how his version of political theology and apocalyptic imagination are shaping the worldview of some of the most powerful people in the world. We cannot remain silent. As a counterpoint, join me and Rev. Dr. Matthew Fox, along with Kamala Harris’ former Communication Director, Gil Duran, for a powerful counter-narrative rooted in wisdom, justice, and authentic spirituality. REGISTER HERE.

October 18, 2025 - No Kings 2.0 Protest - Scholars of authoritarianism teach us that we need 3.5% of the population rising up to disrupt the rise of authoritarians. The last protest had over 6 million people in the streets in the US (more around the world) which was one of the largest protest in US history. We need to double that number. So here we go again. The movement builds. See you on the streets.

October 20-24, 2025 - FREE Online 5-Day Summit on “Made for These Times: Spiritual Leadership for a World in Crisis.” Political extremism. Climate collapse. Cultural fragmentation. People of faith across the globe are asking: How do we lead with clarity, courage, and compassion in a time like this? REGISTER HERE.

October 23, 30, November 13, 20 2025, 7pm ET - In Search of a New Story: Reimagining What Comes Next, A 4-Part Online Series with Dr. Matthew Fox, Cameron Trimble, Ilia Delio, Diana Butler Bass, Caroline Myss and Luther Smith. We are living through the unraveling of many old stories—about who we are, why we’re here, and how we are meant to live together on this Earth. As these inherited narratives collapse under the weight of climate crisis, social fragmentation, and spiritual disconnection, the question becomes clear: What story will guide us now? REGISTRATION NOW OPEN!

July 19-24, 2026 - Join me and my amazing co-facilitator, Victoria, on retreat in the back-country of beautiful Wyoming. The Art of Wilding is a 5-Day Expedition for Women Leaders. We will spend the week reconnecting to nature, exploring our inner landscapes for change, and engage the wisdom of spiritual teachings. Click here to learn more.

I drafted a Strategic Framework for Congregations as we move into the coming years of increased authoritarianism around the world. If interested, you can download it here.

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If you are a leader or member of a congregation looking for consulting support in visioning, planning, hiring or staffing, please consider Convergence.

1. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/sep/30/hud-website-government-shutdown-banner