Sounding Board
300 attend Spokane prayer vigil in solidarity with 650 in Minneapolis
Opening a Jan. 23 prayer vigil in solidarity with 650 clergy gathered in Minneapolis for prayer and action in the midst of the violence of the Immigrations and Customs Bureau (ICE) in their community, Dean Heather VanDeventer of the Episcopal Cathedral of St. John observed that a cathedral is a place people come seeking shelter in times of prayer and in times of violence, calamity and joy.
Retired United Church of Christ (UCC) pastor Jim CastroLang then asked, "Why are we here?" He answered that people were gathering because of the volume of cruelty used by ICE in Minnesota where people are dying.
Jim said faith leaders who went Jan. 22 and 23 to Minnesota included nine from Spokane among 18 from Washington.
"Why are we here? Why are you here?" he asked. "We are here because of the violence, cruelty and trauma terrorizing friends in Minneapolis and not leaving Spokane untouched. We have a government using fear to gain power, control and profit. We are here because people are dying and families are being damaged."
Jim said people came to the cathedral to be in solidarity with many good people putting their bodies on the line in Minneapolis.
"We invite you into two acts: "a prayer vigil and actions on the streets to strengthen our resolve."
The prayer vigil is to "root ourselves in the power of the God of this Love Creation, the Love Force of the universe. We are inextricably linked. We are never alone. We do not act alone. In this great Love, we are united and we remember to 'not be afraid.' We redirect anger that wants to hate into anger rooted in Love leading to acts of hope and solidarity."
Jim said that those gathered are rooted in hope and a resolve to not be bystanders but to "go out the doors of this sacred place into the sacred streets to bend the arc of our community toward justice." He asked: "Are you ready to be the hope that brings change?"
Rabbi Tamar Malino of Temple Beth Shalom and Congregation Emanu-El, Holy Names Sister Susan Wells and Karen Stromgren, co-founder of Muslims for Community Action and Support (MCAS), described the situation.
Tamar said: "Minneapolis is at the center of a crisis long in the making—a crisis of our Constitution, federal overreach, militarized enforcement and the erosion of civil liberties. A crisis of our democracy and our morals."
Sister Susan said: "We are in a crisis with faith communities failing to live into a vision of Beloved Community—across traditions, our shared commitments to justice, dignity, compassion, right relationship and collective care."
Karen said: "This is not a crisis in one city. It is a crisis all over the land, born of original sins: stolen land, slavery, genocide and the ongoing violence required to sustain them. As we just marked Martin Luther King Jr. Day 2026, we are standing in an echo of history—offered lessons we need not repeat and legacies of love we are called to build upon."
Tamar, Susan and Karen said: "In the tendrils of inherited harm and collective memory, we hear calls from our past—calling us toward both peril and possibility. We listen and respond."
Tamar then gave a prayer:
ואהבת את-הגר כי-גרים הייתם בארץ מצרים
Love the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt. - Deut. 10:19
"Lest we forget our obligation to those fleeing danger and poverty, and living in a land not our own, this refrain is repeated 37 times in the Torah, the first five books of the shared Christian and Jewish scriptures," she said.
It is the opening of a Jan. 22 statement: "Adding our voices to millions of others across the U.S., leaders of the Reform, Conservative/Masorti, and Reconstructionist Movements of Judaism condemn, in the strongest terms, the [violence] of the Department of Homeland Security…in Minneapolis, and in cities and towns across the nation." See spokanetbs.org.
These organizations represent three-fourths, hundreds of thousands of the U.S. Jewish population, said Tamar, who then read a Prayer for the Protection of Immigrants and Refugees by Rabbi Simkha Weintraub (revised June 2025), expressing concern and fear for immigrants and refugees "who come seeking survival safety and sustenance but are tracked down, rounded up and terrorized by a government" that ignores their cries and chooses "the ruthless power of might over the enduring strength of compassion." The prayer continues, "Help us stand up for the vulnerable…with commitment, creativity, courage and success… affirming Your Image reflected in each and every soul.
"Let the One who creates peace and harmony on high create peace and harmony for us and for all who dwell on earth," she recited from traditional Jewish liturgy.
Naghmana Sherazi, also of MCAS, opened by saying, "May the Almighty keep us safe from harm." She cited several Surahs in the Quran that address oppressors and injustice, offer warnings, comfort the oppressed and promise divine justice.
• Surah Ibrahim (14:42) warns not "to be heedless of what the unjust do" and promises they will face "a day of intense terror."
• Surah Al-Buruj (85:10) threatens those who torture and oppress believers with the punishment of Hell.
• Surah An-Nisa (4:75) encourages fighting for oppressed men, women and children who cry out to be rescued from an oppressive, tyrannical community.
• Surah Ash-Shura (42:41-42) says while self-defense is allowed, the blame is on those who initiate oppression, tyranny and corruption.
• Surah Hud (11:113) advises believers not to support oppressors, lest they be touched by the Fire.
• Surah Al-Qasas (28:19) mentions Musa (Moses) referring to a tyrant who seeks to commit oppression on earth.
These verses express that while injustice may persist temporarily, divine justice is certain, and oppression of others is condemned.
"As a Muslim woman living in today's world, these verses give me hope that tyranny and oppressors will meet their destined end," said Naghmana. "We cannot sit and do nothing. Allah promises that he sees everything, knows what is in each person's heart, so I live in hope. Today, we need hope to be able to continue."
Jenny Slagle, president of the Spokane Public Schools Board and a member of the Spokane Tribe, offered "a prayer for our neighbors and our shared humanity."
"Creator, we gather today not because we agree on everything, but because we share a responsibility to one another. We come with concern for families living with fear, for children whose hope is taken away. We hold in prayer Minneapolis—a city under strain, where safety feels fragile and the presence meant to protect deepens harm. We acknowledge that no one is illegal on stolen land.
"This truth invites humility. It asks us to remember history honestly. Borders came after displacement. Laws followed removal. Many systems were built without consent from the people who were here since time immemorial.
"Let this remembering soften, not harden us. We pray for faith leaders, called to guide people through fear and division, to speak truth with care and choose courage over silence.
"We pray for those with authority to exercise power with restraint and no one would lose their humanity in the name of order.
"Creator, keep us from silence that pretends to be neutral while harm continues. Root us in solidarity that listens, shows up and insists every person is worthy of dignity, safety and belonging. How we care for those most vulnerable among us is how we decide what kind of ancestors we will become.
"May this prayer move our feet, guide our words and shape our choices in the days ahead."
Ian McPherson, pastor of Salem Lutheran Church, shared a poem that is a prayer from the German theologian, poet, mystic and activist Dorothee Sölle. As early as 1970, Sölle, who taught in the United States, warned of the rise of what she called Christo-fascism, the perversion of Christ's embodied solidarity with the poor and oppressed, the misuse of Jesus' name, to justify authoritarian violence both at home and abroad. The prayer "Dream me, God" is at presentationsistersne.ie/dream-me-god.
Luc Jasmin, a first-generation Haitian immigrant who is the representative of the governor in Eastern Washington, said, "Scripture calls us to call one another. Love casts out fear. We need to stand together and let love, not hate, define us."
Heather VanDeventer prayed for faith leaders from the region and state, and for faith leaders in Minnesota from across the country.
"Today is not the first day to care for neighbors. It is a season we are in," she said, joining Amy Meredith of Westminster UCC to lead those gathered in singing: "I am not afraid. We are not afraid."
Bishop Gretchen Rehberg of the Episcopal Diocese of Spokane then pointed out that "theology, biology and statistics tell us that you and I are related.
"Every one of us is connected with six degrees of separation. What happens to you and others happens to me. So, we show up when people are oppressed. We speak up when we see injustice—or we stay silent," she continued.
She quoted the Episcopal Bishop of New Hampshire recently telling clergy to write their wills and then not be afraid to use their bodies to stand up to ICE.
"I am thankful that we are here and understand we are all connected and related," Gretchen said. "We are not to use evil against evil, violence against violence or hate against those who hate.
"We need to love and respect others," she continued. "It's the only way that evil, violence and hate will lose. To people of all faith traditions, I say we need to live that way of life to change their ways."
Andy CastroLang, a retired UCC pastor, then reminded that in the U.S. everyone has constitutional rights and protections, regardless of immigration status. One is the right to film police and immigration officers in a public place without impeding their duties.
Sharing information from the Washington Immigrant Solidarity Network, she invited people to bear witness, advising to stay at a safe distance, say they are exercising their right to record, step back if an officer comes too close and say that's what they are doing.
Those recording need their cell phones to be passcode protected and need to narrate what they witness, documenting names, badges, uniforms, vests, vehicles, license plates, agencies, language used, violence and physical force. To protect the privacy and safety of anyone being detained, they should not go live on social media.
Witnesses may send information to hotline@waisn.org
