Thursday, April 13

On Maundy Thursday, soldiers met Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane to arrest him. He had become a threat to a state that oppressed the most vulnerable and ruled over them with fear. What was threatening about him was love. Love that refused to back down in the face of fear. Love that refused to back down in the face of militaristic oppression.

That oppression and rule by fear has never gone away, and neither has our need to stand against it. Among other things, it is active in our community today through Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) harassing, terrifying and deporting precious members of our community.

ICE is an active danger to members of our community — both our community at All Saints Church and our wider communities of Los Angeles, California and the nation. Its targeting of people for deportation is based on race and class. It splits up families, has communities living in fear and exacerbates the already shrinking trust between communities of color and police and government authorities.

This Maundy Thursday morning, I and others from All Saints Church will be joining with people of many faiths for An Interfaith Day of Prophetic Action to stand with immigrant and refugee families. Using rituals from our various faiths, we will do what Jesus did that night — proclaim our solidarity with the most vulnerable among us and that God’s love for all God’s children is more powerful than any oppression.

At this action we will:

* Demand Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) exercise prosecutorial discretion to provide relief to local immigrant families.

* Demand that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) stop the increased immigration enforcement — detentions, raids and deportations — that is creating fear and undermining public safety in our communities.

* Demand comprehensive immigration reform, and not diverting much needed funds from communities to building a wall and creating a deportation force.

* Demand the passage of SB 54 (The California Values Act) and SB 6 (The Due Process for All Act) — so that California will continue to lead the way in creating sanctuary for all.

We will also be standing with and as the immigrant and refugee community fights against deportation and other policies that threaten the safety and well-being of our nation’s immigrants.

I hope as many of you as possible will join us.

Here are the details:

What: An Interfaith Day of Prophetic Action – Standing with Immigrant and Refugee Families
When: Thursday, April 13, 10:00 a.m.
Where: La Plaza United Methodist Church, 115 Paseo De La Plaza, Los Angeles, CA 90012

Click here to see directions for wherever you may be coming from, by car or public transportation.

Hope to see you there!

Con el amor de Cristo,
Mike