Kentucky Gov. Beshear praised by faith leaders for leading with empathy in his first term

Near the beginning of the inaugural worship service Tuesday morning at First Christian Church in downtown Frankfort, Rev. Corrie Shull thanked Gov. Andy Beshear in a prayer for being a sympathetic leader.

Part of the “compassionate leadership” the governor modeled during his first term was “his refusal to bow (to) partisan pettiness,” said Shull, who pastors Burnett Avenue Baptist Church in Louisville.

It was a theme repeated by those who participated in Tuesday’s inaugural events, as well as onlookers who voted to re-elect Beshear.

As Shull spoke, Beshear listened from the front row, joined by his wife Britainy and their two children, Will and Lila. During the hour-long service, church leaders across denominations lauded him for being a governor who has valued unity over division — a point Beshear, himself, often elevated in his re-election campaign. Hours later, he was ceremonially inaugurated for a second term.

Dr. Muhammad Babar, of Muslim Americans for Compassion, said the challenges Kentucky faces “demand unity, resilience and a spirit of collaboration.”

Babar described Beshear as humble, confident and dedicated. “That’s why Kentuckians have once again placed their trust and confidence in his capable hands,” he said.

Rev. Bruce Barkhauer, director of the Center for Faith and Giving, said “our banner must be justice for all, and it has to be a check you can cash.”

Nick Powers, a retired engineer and Republican whom attended the inaugural breakfast with his wife Susan, a Democrat, said he thinks Beshear’s aim is to represent all Kentuckians, not just those who politically agree with him.

“I truly believe that he is the governor for every Kentuckian and not just the red or the blue,” Powers said.

On the campaign trail, Beshear often criticized his opponent, Republican Attorney General Daniel Cameron, for running hard on “hyper-partisan” issues, including Cameron’s staunch defense of recent anti-transgender laws, including one that outlaws gender-affirming health care for trans youth.

A strategist for Beshear pulled no punches when talking about Cameron’s campaign after the race was over. Beshear has also had back-and-forth with Kentucky’s legislature, which leans heavily Republican. State lawmakers say they have no relationship with Beshear.

After the church service, early Tuesday afternoon on the steps of the Kentucky Capitol with hundreds of people looking on, Beshear called for a style of leadership that embraces “compassion and empathy.”

“One of the most difficult challenges before us that politics — and sometimes even our governance — has become poisonous and toxic,” Beshear said. “What is supposed to be an exchange of ideas has devolved into grievances and attacks.

“We see strategies and commercials meant to make one American — one Kentuckian — an enemy of another, trying to accuse them of horrible things in order to dehumanize them, so as to somehow justify anger, even hate, turning people against their neighbors just to have one more elected official with a certain letter behind their name.”

Silas House, Kentucky’s poet laureate, read aloud an original poem written for the occasion, titled, “Those Who Carry Us.”

He recalled taking shelter during storms as a child — first a flood, then a tornado — being ferried to safe spaces by the adults around him.

“Often these days, I study on those who carry us,” House said. “The every day people who keep the engine of the world running. When the darkest skies move in, I remind myself that most people are good. I think of school teachers who say, ‘You matter.’ Bus drivers who are glad to see us each morning, lunch ladies laughing as they ladle out our food. All those who stand up for what is right.”

“There are so many ways to change the world,” he said. “I thank them for carrying me, even when I didn’t know.”