It all began with an email. Sister Joann Gehling invited me to consider participating in a prayer vigil for several immigrants who have been detained in the Linn County Jail. Some of their hearings were to take place on Wednesday, June 3, at the US District Courthouse. Family members would be present as part of the vigil, as would a contingency from the Iowa City Catholic Worker House, who was organizing the gathering. Given the connection that Prairiewoods has to their program, they invited a few people to stand in solidarity with the families and others who are working on issues of immigration.
My first thought was to say “No” to Sister Joann, given that I had never done anything like this before. It’s not that I didn’t care about the plight of the immigrants among us, because I do. The treatment many have suffered is horrible. In my ministry as a District Superintendent in the United Methodist Church, we worked with pastors coming to this country from other places, and the process for them to be here is long, complicated and seemingly ever changing. Yet, in my mind I felt ill-prepared, clueless in fact, as I realized I have very little depth of knowledge regarding the current immigration issues. In my mind I was a bit nervous given the state of the larger situation in our country following the horrific death of George Floyd in Minneapolis. What if a group of protesters showed up and it all turned very ugly? Then what? Sister Joann called me the next day and I told her I would think about it and get back to her later that day.
By the end of the day, by God’s good grace, my fears were put into perspective and I answered “Yes,” I would be there. In the time between when I answered Yes and the actual getting in the car to drive to the courthouse on Wednesday morning, several thoughts deepened my resolve for answering Yes. In an email newsletter I receive from Bread for the World there was a prayer for this season in our lives—this Pentecost season when we experience the Breath of the Spirit. In part it read:
“We long for your shalom—for the healing, wholeness, and restoration of your people and your world. We long to know your abundance and your peace …
Yet many of us participate and uphold the systems of evil, injustice, and oppression that are established to privilege some and hinder the breath of others …
Breathe on us, Holy Spirit
so that we might be emboldened to interrupt the sinful systems of evil, injustice, and oppression all around us. That we might root it out of ourselves and our laws and our institutions …
Come Holy Spirit, Come. Amen.”
In this season of the Spirit’s presence among us, how could I not answer Yes?
During the Prayer Experience Series on Tuesday, Emelia Sautter played a mantra by Beautiful Chorus using the words “Please let me be brave. Please let me see my choices clearly.” It was just what I needed to hear. I played it over and over to let it settle into the fabric of my being. In spite of not knowing much about the situation or about immigration issues, I felt more compelled to participate knowing the Spirit would fill me with the brave spirit I needed for the moment.
A phrase I have heard and used over and over came to mind: “Remember who and whose you are.” It was then I recalled again the underlying reasons I answered Yes. The vows of my baptism—“Do you renounce the spiritual forces of wickedness, reject the evil powers of this world and repent of your sin? Do you accept the freedom and power God gives you to resist evil, injustice and oppression in whatever forms they present themselves?” The answers are I do. The answer is Yes! I remembered the vows of my ordination, among which include will you lead “the people of God in obedience to mission in the world to seek justice, peace and freedom for all people?” The answer is Yes, by God’s grace.
The only answer I could give at that point was Yes! It is with deep gratitude that I am appreciative of the opportunity to join with others who gathered that morning. We heard the stories of the families affected; we joined together in song and prayer. We stood in community with brothers and sisters in the midst of these difficult days of pandemic and national unrest. As I stood in this gathering, it became clear to me how so much of what we encounter in this time is all woven together in the same fragile fabric of who we are as God’s beloveds. Immigration concerns, racism, ecological degradation, poverty and consumerism are only some of the injustices that impact the lives of many of our sisters and brothers who share this common home.
There is much for us to do as we work together to bring healing to all the kin in our world. Become informed, build relationships, listen to the voices of those among us whose stories and experiences are different from our own—the black and brown voices, the voices of First Nation peoples, those of Asian descent, all those from places all over this globe. We are invited to some deeper self-examination. Each one is a small step, difficult perhaps, yet a step toward healing. And each of these small steps we take will begin by answering Yes.
—Rose Blank, Prairiewoods volunteer