By Morgen White | FāVS News Reporter
Faith leaders across the Northwest are calling on their communities to respond with prayer and nonviolent action following two Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) shootings this week that left one woman dead in Minneapolis and a couple wounded in Portland.
Religious leaders from Episcopal, United Methodist and interfaith organizations released statements urging congregants to reject violence while taking concrete action against what they describe as the “dehumanization” of immigrants under federal enforcement operations.
“Make no mistake, the way of Jesus is the way of non-violence,” said the Rev. Philip LaBelle, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Olympia, in a statement released Friday afternoon. “That does not mean that we do not stand up when we encounter injustice in this world — because we should.”
The statements came after ICE officer fatally shot Renee Nicole Good on Jan. 7 in Minneapolis. U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem called it “an act of domestic terrorism,” saying Good had been “stalking and impeding” officers.
Good’s wife, Becca, said in a statement that the couple stopped to support their neighbors with whistles while officers had guns. “Renee was a Christian who knew that all religions teach the same essential truth: we are here to love each other, care for each other, and keep each other safe and whole.”
The following day in Portland, border patrol agents shot a married couple during a traffic stop, leaving both in stable condition. The Department of Homeland Security said the couple were suspected gang associates.
Portland Mayor Keith Wilson released a statement on Thursday afternoon in response to the shooting.
“As mayor, I call on ICE to end all operations in Portland until a full investigation can be completed. I call on every Portlander to represent our values and show up with calm and purpose during this difficult time. Portland does not respond to violence with violence,” Wilson said.
The Department of Homeland Security posted on X early Friday morning that the couple were suspected to be associated with the gang Tren de Aragua.
Pacific Northwest faith leaders’ react
In response to the recent shootings faith leaders across the region have released statements to their communities.
The Rev. Steve Thomason, dean and rector of St. Mark’s Episcopal Cathedral in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Seattle said that people in his community are frightened, outraged and disillusioned with the state of our democracy and the impulse toward violence.
“It is tragic violence that does not comport with the work that many of our law enforcement agencies have undertaken in recent years to orient to de-escalation. The federal law enforcement officials seem not to have committed to the same ethic of honoring human dignity, or our nation’s core values, and the resulting calamities and loss of life leave us bewildered, sad and terrified for what this means for our nation and the world,” Thomason said.
Thomason remains hopeful our elected officials will collectively call for peaceful and dignified ways to address issues in the country.
“Our preaching and prayers are oriented to these tragic realities, and many parishioners are joining the nonviolent protests in these challenging times,” Thomason said.
In a statement on Jan. 8, the Rev. Cedrick Bridgeforth, bishop of The Greater Northwest Area of the United Methodist Church quoted Isaiah 60:2-3, which says, “For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the Lord will arise upon you, and his glory will be seen upon you. And nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.”
He said this Scripture speaks to us in our moment of tension in this country.
“Tonight, I urge you to pray. For Portland. For Minneapolis. For Washington, D.C., Venezuela, Gaza and everywhere in between. For all of God’s children. Let the salutation of your prayer be evident on the other side of the action you take to address the policies and practices that incite violence and condone silence,” Bridgeforth said.
The Rev. Paul Raushenbush, president and CEO of Interfaith Alliance, released a statement on Jan. 8 blaming the Trump administration for inciting the incident through a pattern of “dehumanization, aggression, and cruelty.”
“It’s an attempt to prime the public to accept violence against those deemed outsiders. People of faith must reject this distortion of religion and refuse to let our faiths be weaponized to serve the authoritarian whims of President Trump. The way forward demands both moral clarity and courageous action. Faith communities must speak out,” Raushenbush said.
In the afternoon on Jan 9., Joey Lopez the co-director for The Church Council of Greater Seattle encouraged action from his faith community in a statement.
“We have reached a critical moment where we cannot let this continue. Our faiths dictate a moral imperative to support and care for one another, upholding the dignity and worthiness of migrants as vital members of our communities. The prayers of our mouths, the meditations of our hearts are not enough. To truly fulfill our moral imperative, we must take concrete action to resist, not comply, and refuse to normalize the degradation of our faith and our nation,” Lopez said.
In the statement Lopez also lists actions people can do — including protests and a Nonviolent Civil Disobedience Training facilitated by the Church Council — in response to events like these.
More Inland Northwest leaders of conscience reactions
In Spokane, Mayor Lisa Brown released a statement early evening Jan. 9 on her mayoral Facebook page, saying she was upset with Good’s killing by an ICE agent, calling the action a consequence of “unchecked federal government power … playing out on the streets of our cities and undermining trust in the institutions of our democracy.”
She also encouraged everyone from all perspectives to seek out “reliable sources of information.”
“Whatever your perspective and however you are feeling … draw strength from loved ones, and pull together as a community according to your convictions,” she added.
The Spokane Visibility Brigade — known for making national issues more public on Spokane’s overpasses — wasted little time and began creating displays on Jan. 8. Their Facebook page lists those videos. One seen below.
One state over, popular Idaho pastor Benjamin Cremer, who has gathered a large digital following in tandem with Trump’s presidencies, wrote a lengthy prayer of lament on his Facebook page. He’s known for his challenging teachings to “reclaim the Gospel of Jesus” while moving “away from Christian nationalism, religious fundamentalism, and church hurt.”
He begins the prayer to the “God of mercy and justice” and writes “we come to you [God] with “heavy hearts, words catching in our throats, grief pressing on our chests” to “lament the death of Renee Good” — a life, he writes, “taken by violence.”
“We confess our exhaustion, our anger, our fear, our despair. We confess that sometimes hope feels thin, that justice feels distant,” Cremer adds to the prayer later. “Yet even here, especially here, we refuse to believe that violence and death will have the final word.”
Upcoming Protests
Spokane, Washington
- “ICE Out for Good”
- BA Clark Park (3922 N Normandie Spokane, WA)
- Saturday, Jan. 10, 2 – 4 p.m.
- Peaceful Vigil for All Victims of ICE
- Front of Spokane ICE offices (Corner of Washington and Cataldo Spokane, WA)
- Saturday, Jan. 10, 5 p.m.
- Foray for the Arts “Poetry Memorial for Renee Nicole Good”
- Post Street Bridge (Spokane, WA)
- Tuesday, Jan. 13, 7 p.m.
- March Against ICE
- Riverfront Park (Spokane, WA)
- Sunday, Jan. 18, Noon
Seattle, Washington
- “ICE Out for Good” — Greenlake
- 56th Street Market (2201 N 56th St Seattle, WA 98103)
- Saturday, Jan. 10, 1 – 2 p.m.
- “ICE Out for Good” — West Seattle
- West Seattle Junction (4701 California Ave SW Seattle, WA 98116)
- Sunday, Jan. 11, 9 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.
- “ICE Out for Good” — Shoreline
- (N 205th St & Hwy 99 Shoreline, WA 98133)
- Sunday, Jan. 11, 1 – 2 p.m.
- “ICE Out for Good” — Marysville
- (Marysville/Tulalip WA, I-5 & 88th St Overpass Marysville/Tulalip, WA 98271 – near flooded farm story)
- Sunday, Jan. 11, 1 – 2 p.m.
Coeur d’Alene, Idaho
- Peaceful Vigil for All Victims of ICE
- Independence Point (105 Northwest Blvd. Coeur d’Alene, ID)
- Sunday, Jan. 11, 1 – 1:30 p.m.
Sandpoint, Idaho
- “ICE Out for Good”
- (Location private until signed up)
- Saturday, Jan. 10, Noon – 2 p.m.
Colville, Washington
- “ICE Out for Good”
- Walmart Supercenter (810 N Hwy Colville, WA 99114)
- Saturday, Jan. 10, Noon – 1:30 p.m.
Pullman, Washington
- “ICE Out for Good”
- On the sidewalk in front of Neill Public Library (210 N Grand Ave at the intersection of Grand and Pullman, WA 99163)
- Saturday, Jan. 10, Noon – 2 p.m.
Kennewick (Tri Cities), Washington
- “ICE Out for Good”
- N Columbia Center Blvd (Kennewick, WA 99336)
- Saturday, Jan. 10, 11 a.m. – 1 p.m.
Hermiston, Oregon
- “ICE Out for Good”
- East Highland Avenue & South Highway 395 (Hermiston, OR 97838)
- Saturday, Jan. 10, Noon – 2 p.m.
Portland, Oregon
- “ICE Out for Good”
- Oregon Maritime Museum (198 SW Naito Pkwy Portland, OR 97204)
- Saturday, Jan. 10, 11 a.m. – 1 p.m.
For other “ICE Out for Good” events in the Pacific and Inland Northwest, visit Moblize.us.
