Two Church of the Brethren pastors respond to Minneapolis call for clergy support

At least two Church of the Brethren pastors—Jenn Hosler of Washington (D.C.) City Church of the Brethren and Matt Rittle of Arlington (Va.) Church of the Brethren—answered a call from local organizers for interfaith ministers to go to Minneapolis, Minn., last week as clergy support during events responding to immigration enforcement.

Find a webpage about the call issued by MARCH (Multifaith Antiracism, Change & Healing) at www.marchminnesota.org.

A few days later, after returning home, Hosler also took part in civil disobedience in the Hart Senate Office Building in Washington, D.C., and was one of the clergy who deliberately chose to risk arrest.

The events last week in Minneapolis have gained national attention following the shooting death of Alex Pretti by a Border Patrol agent on Saturday, Jan. 24, in Minneapolis. The violence of immigration enforcement in the Minneapolis area already had gained attention with the Jan. 7 shooting death of Renee Nicole Good by an ICE agent.

Hosler and Rittle shared reflections and photos from their experiences with Newsline. Here are some excerpts:

*People gather around a memorial to Alex Pretti in Minneapolis. Photo by Matt Rittle*

Matt Rittle, Friday, Jan. 23:

Over 50,000 people braved the weather—a windchill of NEGATIVE TWENTY FIVE DEGREES—to stand up for their neighbor, for peace, and for democracy. Crowds chanted “ICE OUT” the entire march, for literal hours. So many signs contained quotes from MLK or the Bible. People danced together in the freezing cold and sang together inside the local sports arena. True solidarity and community in action.

Honored to be one of the 1000-ish out of state clergy who joined to say our faith demands that we stand with the oppressed over the empire; we will not let you stand alone.

Jenn Hosler, Saturday, Jan. 24:

I flew home from Minneapolis late this morning and federal agents had already murdered another person observing ICE activity. Yesterday, I marched with more than 50,000 people, filling the streets of downtown Minneapolis, chanting, ICE OUT! I spent two days learning from brave people with MARCH. Sure, they are people traumatized by the violence in their community, but they are resilient and persistent in their commitment to justice, love, and the protection of their neighbors.

DC’s ICE surge pales in comparison to what is happening in Minneapolis. Imagine federal agents flooding your town or city, at numbers that greatly surpass your local police. Minneapolis is swarming with ICE.

On Thursday [Jan. 22], I participated in ICE watch with other interfaith clergy, walking down Lake Street (a hotbed of ICE snatching and a beautiful immigrant corridor). Much of resistance is mundane, keeping persistent presence amidst ordinary life, until crisis comes and there are swarms of heavily armed and armored agents ready to beat and spray and snatch and shatter (literally and figuratively). In a minute, ICE sweeps in and out. Some clergy folk saw ICE harass a pregnant woman with several children, a dozen agents looming.

Again and again, community responses organize to keep people safe, because hospitals are not safe, schools are not safe, grocery stores are not safe, churches are not safe.

There are miracles each day: grassroots medical care, congregational safety practices, community food deliveries, and so much more. There is also grief upon grief every day. One organizer was late for our training because she was delivering breastmilk for a 3-month-old whose mother was kidnapped by ICE, leaving no one at home to care for the infant. While I was in Minneapolis, sweet Liam Conejo Ramos was taken, a child made a prisoner—even though “we’re going after the worst of the worst.”

One beloved colleague carried a fantastic sign, “Hail Mary, full of grace. Kick ICE out of this place!” In the legacy of our ancestor Mother Mary, we too call on God to scatter the proud, bring down the powerful, send the rich away empty, lift up the lowly, and fill the hungry with good things (Luke 1:46-55).

Matt Rittle, Sunday, Jan. 25:

Take a breath before reading this one, fam. I had the opportunity—thanks to four cancelled flights home—to visit the memorial site of Alex Pretti…. I stayed for an hour, eventually joining other clergy in leading community singing.

Take a deep breath wherever you are, and honor Alex Pretti, who lived and died to care and protect veterans and neighbors, whose last words were, “are you okay?”

Alex Pretti should be alive. Renee Good should be alive. Keith Porter should be alive. All killed by ICE since December 31st. Six additional people died in ICE custody in that same timeframe (that we know of): Geraldo Lunas Campos, Luis Gustavo Nunez Caceres, Luis Beltran Yanez-Cruz, Parady La, Victor Manuel Diaz, and Heber Sanchaz Domínguez.

Jenn Hosler, Friday, Jan. 30:

Nosotros cantamos, “No estás solo. No estás sola. Juntos hacemos la liberación.” We sang, “You are not alone. You are not alone. Together we make liberation happen.”

Not another dollar for ICE! Yesterday [Thursday, Jan. 29], I joined interfaith clergy from across the country to “pray with our feet” and call on Congress not to fund ICE. Sponsored by @fianational and many other amazing organizations. We (pastors, priests, Catholic sisters, rabbis, and lay leaders) were arrested during peaceful, prayerful protest in the Hart Senate Office Building. This small act of resistance was done in solidarity with the people of MN [Minnesota] and all people affected and terrorized by ICE around the country. While we were singing in handcuffs on a Capitol Police bus, we remembered how we were doing this for people who are languishing in detention (including beloved 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos).

It isn’t about changing personnel—there is systematic violence and cruelty built into US immigration enforcement.

*Jenn Hosler, shown center front holding sign, takes part in civil disobedience in the Hart Senate Office Building in Washington, D.C. Photo by Hannah Santos @unitedchurchofchrist*

Here’s a quick summary of what I heard and saw in MN last week: families and churches are being torn apart, people are being targeted because of the color of their skin, citizens are being harassed, detained, assaulted, and murdered because they are advocating for their first and fourth amendment rights, and even Indigenous people are being detained and held by ICE in order to pressure tribal nations to allow ICE on their sovereign land. ICE has impunity to teargas community members exercising constitutional rights, smash windows, enter homes without a proper warrant, imprison children, and beat or kill peaceful protestors.

My understanding of the gospel of Jesus has taught me that Jesus came to transform both the spiritual and the social, that Jesus came to preach good news to the poor, to bring down the powerful and to lift up the lowly and vulnerable (see Luke 1, Luke 4). This theology is undergirded by the fact that all human beings are beloved and made in the image of God, worthy of dignity and care.

In DC and MN, time and again, I’ve seen communities organize and come together with a rallying cry, “We keep us safe.” We protect our communities, we build systems of care and protection when the government either fails to do so OR the government is the one harming families. Our black and brown siblings have long shown us this path in mutual aid. Again, our black and brown siblings have also shown the way in nonviolent resistance and noncooperation, fiercely defending human rights and dignity, armed only with love and sweat and hours of training in nonviolent strategies for change. As the people of Minneapolis demonstrated for me last week, much of the work is mundane—it’s showing up for neighbors by delivering food or breastmilk or by keeping watch out for ICE and blowing a whistle or by shepherding children to school. All of this is undergirded by love for neighbors and a recognition of the beautiful humanity of all.

To quote Imam Yusef Abdulle, a Somali-American imam from Minneapolis, “We’re not garbage, we’re gorgeous.” AMEN

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