Thoughts, Prayers & Art

Originally published: June 7, 2025

Beloved in Christ,

We are a people formed by a story, a story in which the cries of the oppressed rise up to the heavens and God hears. A story in which strangers are not cast out but welcomed. A story in which Jesus, himself a refugee, said, “Whatever you do to the least of these… you do unto me.”

And so today, with broken hearts and righteous anger, we lift our eyes to the violence unfolding in California, the militarized response of ICE agents who meet desperation with aggression, who fire pepper bullets at exhausted bodies, who release tear gas into the eyes of frightened children, who chase families seeking safety as though they were enemies of the state.

This is not just a political issue. It is a spiritual crisis.

It is a crisis of the soul when those sworn to protect instead persecute. When the government weaponizes fear against the very people whose labor builds our homes, whose children sit beside ours in classrooms, whose hands pick the food that graces our tables. This violence is not abstract. It is personal. It is targeted. It is evil. And it is antithetical to the Gospel we proclaim.

To the immigrant families, terrified, trembling, enduring what no human should, we say: We see you. We love you. You are not alone.
To our communities of faith, we ask: Where is our outrage? Where is our holy courage? We cannot be silent. Silence is complicity. Neutrality is not an option when God’s beloved are being hunted.

Now is the time for prayer and protest. For compassion and action. Now is the time to recall the words of the Prophet Isaiah:
“Woe to those who make unjust laws, to those who issue oppressive decrees, to deprive the poor of their rights and withhold justice from the oppressed.” (Isaiah 10:1-2)

We pray not only for peace, but for the dismantling of systems of cruelty. We pray not only for comfort, but for courage to stand in solidarity. We pray for the agents, too—that their hearts be pierced with the truth of their actions, that they may repent and find another way.

Holy One, wrap your arms around our immigrant siblings. Let your angels stand guard in detention centers, in courtrooms, at border crossings, and in the shadows where families now hide in fear. Heal the wounds, soften the hearts, embolden the voices, and awaken the conscience of this nation.

Let our churches not be fortresses of comfort but sanctuaries of justice. Let us rise, beloved, not in fear but in faith, because God is always on the side of the oppressed, and so must we be.