Transcription
You got to put one foot in front of the other and Lead With Love. One Foot In Front of the other and lead with love. You got to put one foot in front of the other and lead with the foot. One foot in front of the other and Lead With Love. Don't give up hope. Don't give up hope. You're not alone. You're not alone. Don't you give up. Don't you give up. Keep moving on. Keep moving. You got to put one foot in front of the other and lead with love. You got to put one foot in front of the other and Lead With Love. Lift up your eyes. Lift up your eyes. Despair. Don't you despair. Look up ahead. Look up ahead. See the path is there. You got to put one foot in front of the other and lead with love. You got to put one foot in front of the other and lead with love. I know you're scared. I know that you're scared. Scared to, and I'm scared to. But here I am. But here I am, next to you, right next to you. You got to put one foot in front of the other and lead with love. You got to put one foot in front of the other and lead with love. And lead with love. And Lead With Love.
Good evening everyone. My name is Kristen Jackson, and I'm one of the pastors at Living Water Community Church in Chicago, where it has been my great privilege to learn from and to do church with many immigrants from all over the world. The founding director of Living Waters Church Choir, her name is Zadi Silus, uh, decided to name the church choir the Unity Choir because the singers mostly come from Burundi, Rwanda, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Tanzania, and from people groups that have been Trapped In conflict that goes back for several Generations now. But now Zadi, the choir director, declared people who had been Trapped In conflict would Now sing together, and so the Unity Choir was born. She declared that we would worship God together. Zadi's prophetic Vision became one that our entire congregation shares now, and so tonight I invite any of you who are feeling low on hope to borrow some of Zadi's vision for how things might be, that we might, might all live in a world where people who once were at war with each other now sing together.
Welcome all of you to this March 2025 Mennonite Action Mass call. We are glad you're here, and we welcome you however you are, however you're feeling—in anguish, maybe you're exhausted, angry, hanging on to hope. I invite you to bring your fullness of who you are into this space tonight as we pray and sing and learn and continue to commit to taking action together. And to start our call tonight, we must bring attention to Gaza. This week we watched in horror as Israel began bombing Gaza once again, again shattering the ceasefire agreement by killing over 400 people across Gaza, including nearly 200 children. For the last two weeks, Israel has completely blockaded Gaza, using starvation as a weapon, and now with the Trump administration's green light, Israel has resumed its genocidal assault on Gaza, and we can anticipate what comes next: more air strikes and evacuation orders and likely another ground Invasion. And all of this is happening during the month of Ramadan. We cannot avert our eyes.
Also this week, Palestinian activist and recent Columbia University graduate Mahmoud Khalil issued his first public statement from a Detention Facility in Louisiana after being abducted from his home by, and we are once again confronted with the undeniable intersectionality between Palestinian Liberation and immigrant justice. But as our friends over at Mennonite Pin Canada said in their newsletter this week, Palestinian samud persists, and the dream for Freedom, equality, and dignity does not die. Tonight's Mass call theme is God's love knows no borders. Together we will hear from speakers connecting struggles for immigrant Justice and Palestinian Liberation and recommit ourselves to taking action for Palestine, for our undocumented and immigrant neighbors, for our queer and trans neighbors, and for the liberation of All God's Children. To ground us in prayer tonight, let us pray together. To lead us in prayer tonight is Nate Pette. Nate is one of the pastors at Church of the Sojourners, a Mennonite intentional community in the heart of the Mission District in San Francisco. He is new to the work of Mennonite Action and grateful to be a part of what the spirit is doing in and co-partnering with those across the globe in nonviolent fight for justice and for Mercy. Nate, thank you for being with us tonight.
Thank you, Kristen. It is really good to be here with you all. We had our, uh, God's love knows no borders, uh, action here in San Francisco a couple weeks ago, and we felt so encouraged by just what Kristen was talking about—by worshiping together, by singing together, and proclaiming that God's love for our neighbors near and far—and it has just been, it has been also encouraging to see the pictures and videos from Harrisonburg, and we can't wait, wait to see what the other actions will be doing in the future. We are not alone. We are working together with the spirit of God and each other. And so as we begin today, let's take some deep breaths and come to this moment that we are here, that we have together. If you feel comfortable, close your eyes and focus on that breathing. Take those deep breaths. Center your body and mind. Just like Kristen said, we are all coming here together from different places, and we have different emotions. Some of us are coming here with fire in our hearts, ready for what's next. Some of us come here with some anxiety and fear of what's next. Some of us feel overwhelmed and paralyzed by the chaos, disruption, oppression, and violence in our world. Some of us probably have all of these living in our bodies. And so today as we begin, we begin with a blessing from Sister Ruth, Marlon Fox. Mther Isach, Palestinian Christian Pastor in Bethlehem, and his important new book, Christ in the Rebel, says that this, that an old friend gave him this blessing a few days before his ordination, and it has shaped his life in Ministry. May this shape our time together and focus for the journey ahead.
May God bless you with anger at Injustice, oppression, and exploitation of people, so that you may work for justice, freedom, and peace. May God bless you with tears to shed for those who suffer pain, rejection, hunger, and War, so that you may reach out your hand to comfort them and turn their pain to Joy. And may God bless us with enough foolishness to believe that we can make a difference in the world, so that we can do what others proclaim cannot be done—to bring Justice and kindness to all our children and the poor. Creator of the world, Liberator of the world, and spirit of Life, today we give you thanks for the opportunity to gather, to listen to stories, to sing together, to pray together, to be co-partners with you and co-partners with one another. Give us encouragement and strength today for the journey and resistance ahead. We ask that your spirit be moving as we proclaim across our world that your love knows no borders. May your creative Spirit give us life to love our neighbors near and far. Lord, come. Lord, have mercy. In your name we pray. Amen. Amen.
Thank you, Pastor Nate, for your prayers. Adam, let me suggest a song for us to sing and listen to this evening. And so our first song this evening is going to be one of my favorite songs that is sung by our congregation's Unity Choir. It is called Un Go, and it will be performed by the original artist of that song. And um, Un Go, Go means guide me.
[Music]
Many… my… me… oh…
Amen. Amen. Guide us, God.
I will now hand it over to Aldo Shahan. For 15 years, Aldo has served as pastor of Philadelphia Praise Center, PPC, a multi-ethnic congregation in South Philly. Aldo and PPC are always thinking of new ways of serving the community and sharing Christ in the city of Philadelphia. This work has included connecting with immigration-related organizations such as Know Your Rights and sharing information about possible raids in their Community. Pastor Aldo, thank you for being there.
Aldo: Thank you, Kristen. So yes, uh, our church, uh, mostly immigrant, uh, coming from Indonesia, uh, we have like 50% undocumented. So when President Trump, uh, became president again in January, uh, and he started by attacking the Immigrant population, our congregation, uh, start worry about what will happen next, especially with the large number of people who are undocumented. So we, we discuss with our conference, uh, which is Mosaic Mennonite Conference, and, uh, Mosaic Conference kind of like, uh, paired our church with Mennonite Church, uh, for Hospitality visit. But EMBL is not by himself. EMBL Mennonite Church only as a like the coordinator, so they brought also, uh, people from Germantown Mennonite Church, a West Philly Mennonite Church, uh, PL Mennonite Church, that they take turns to come, uh, to our church, uh, they, they sitting on the back seat near the door in case the immigration [ICE] come show up. They are the one who like the, the bumper, they're the one who, who will talk with the, the, the ICE agent, uh, thankfully, uh, until now, uh, we are okay. We are safe, but we feel the God's hand, like the song earlier, uh, really, uh, real through our brothers and sisters from different churches that come to our church, uh, as a we call it, uh, Hospitality visit, solidarity, solidarity visit. So that's, uh, kind of amazing for us as an immigration, immigrant people that we feel like we have brothers and sisters, uh, who are, uh, with us. So, uh, this is great work from many of, uh, our brothers and sisters, uh, crossing, uh, Philadelphia area. Back to you, Kristen.
Thank you. That is a great story of how all of the churches, Mennonite churches that are in the Philadelphia area are partnering together and offering hospitality and solidarity together. I'm really encouraged by what you had to share. Um, we now welcome Salo Padia. Since 2008, Salo has been working with Mennonite Central Committee US as Coordinator for the Immigration Education National Program. His passion to work with immigrants comes from his own experience as the son of a refugee and immigrant, as well as the biblical call to welcome the stranger. Salo?
Hello. Good evening everyone. Uh, thank you so much for this invitation. Um, uh, I, I was a student with John Driver, and John Driver used to say that, uh, the church is in the periphery of history sometimes, and there's in the, in the movements, uh, that show up in these moments that the church is, is alive. And I thank you so much for the witness, uh, of Mennonite Action today. Um, a few years ago, I, in 2017, I was able to go on a U Learning tour to Palestine with many Latino, uh, Latinx Pastors and leaders, and um, in that group there were many, several pastors who, you know, as myself too, I grew up in a Zionist, uh, perspective in, in, in reading of the scriptures, and, uh, it was, uh, many pastors that said to me, uh, you know, we support the people of Israel, they're the People Israel, and that's it, we won't change our minds. And however, when we went, uh, to Palestine and we saw, uh, the intersections of oppressions, uh, between what was happening there and what, uh, was happening also to our people here, our immigrant communities here, um, several pastors, uh, when we were there, they were talking about the border wall, and because many of them lived by Texas, in Texas, and they had to cross, uh, people sometimes through checkpoints, and they were facing, uh, checkpoints all the time, so they were really connected, they were making those intersections and those connections with, uh, immigration issues, and, uh, and then they were also talking about the millions of people who were displaced in military occupations, in an economics and settler colonialism in Latin America. And as we start making those intersections between what is happening with many of the Latino communities in Latin America and then, uh, the people in Palestine, we, uh, many Pastors in their hearts, and you know, it was something about experience, but also being there, and they started then questioning our theological Frameworks, and, and it was then in that experience, in that moment where things started to shift to the point that mid-learning tour, then some of the pastors then continue to, they started to say, well, yes, we hold on to Israel, but then also to Palestine in, in that struggle, in them, right? The theological struggle started happening.
Um, I truly believe that we that there is hope in this, that we need to continue hope in, in, in the work that we do, um, in making those intersections and continue to talk about those intersections today. Um, in the last few weeks, I have walked with, uh, with many churches all the way from Florida to Pennsylvania. I was actually in one of the Indonesian churches last Sunday in Philadelphia, and um, where many of our brothers and sisters are in fear of what could happen at any point to any of them, uh, in the separation of families and the displacement and being going home to places where they're afraid to go back, uh, so, um, making, I think those, those intersections will be very crucial for, for work today, but to continue also to remind people to read scriptures through the lens of the oppressed and the lens of the displaced. I think that's one that God is truly a God that walks with us, uh, the immigrants, and God walks with Asylum Seekers, with refugees, with migrants through history, and God continues to walk with us too. So then that, that's a reminder in, uh, I think is, is crucial for us today, um, as we continue the struggle of, uh, of, uh, changing the minds and hearts of many people. I truly believe that many of the, the higher walls that we have at this point are not the walls that are probably there, but the heart, the walls and the minds and the hearts of people. So then let's continue to work with that, uh, with the hope that God is with us and God continues to, um, to walk with us in, in many ways. So thank you once again for this invitation to be part of this.
Thank you, Salo. That is a really, um, helpful connection that you've made between your work here in the US for immigration Justice and, um, what is going on in Palestine. We are now going to hear report backs from two different regions that have been hosting God loves, God's love knows no borders actions across the US. So first up we'll have Sia Aasta. Sia is a second-year Peacebuilding and Development major at Eastern Mennonite University in Harrisonburg, Virginia. At EMU, she is a part of the Chamber Singers choir, Peace Fellowship leadership, and Ultimate Frisbee Club. Sia will share more about Harrisonburg's action that they just hosted, and then next we have Seth Martin from the DC area. Seth resides in Washington, DC, where he provides psychiatric case management for unhoused individuals with severe mental illness. Raised Mennonite, he and his wife are practicing Muslims that live in, that through Mennonite Action have begun participating in the community life of Hyattville Mennonite Church.
Hello everyone. Thank you so much, Kristen. Um, as was, I'm so grateful to be with you here tonight. As Kristen just mentioned, my name is Siela Aosta. I use she/her pronouns. I'm currently at EMU in the Shenandoah Valley. Um, so last Saturday I attended a God's love knows no borders protest with the Harrisonburg chapter of Mennonite Action. Um, it was estimated that about 250 people were in attendance. We had new banners made by three local churches, EMU's Peace Fellowship, um, and they said things like Jesus was a refugee, God loves Palestine, and God loves immigrants. Um, people also brought some of their own signs. Um, a notable one for me said, Tell me again who is it that God doesn't love? So we all gathered at the start at our local farmers market downtown. Um, our strategy for this action was to come together in, in the way that we know best, which is singing as a form of worship and protest while we march to two locations. The first place that we marched to, it was the county jail where ICE detainees are held. Um, like was mentioned earlier on the call, less than two weeks ago, Mahmoud Khalil, a US legal permanent resident and student organizer for Palestinian Rights, was detained as a targeted Act of political repression. Um, part of what we were trying to do with this action was to show that the struggle of oppressed neighbors, both here and across the world, are related. Um, I think that uniquely to this action, we're just naming how those, the, there are these racist and exclusionary systems that deprive certain populations of Human Rights and dignity in the name of National Security. Um, and those are systems that intersect and overlap, even though they might look different. Um, so we stood in front of the county jail and we sang these words: We resist, we refuse to let hatred in. We rise up, we won't back down. We're in this till the end. Freedom is coming, oh yes we know. We then marched from the county jail to City Hall, where we acknowledged and thanked our officials for being the first city in Virginia to pass a ceasefire resolution and for not complying with ICE. Um, thus far we heard from a few speakers both there and in front of the county jail. Um, and then we ended at City Hall with a hymn, Sing a new world into being, um, which is very special to me personally. I think it just so beautifully showcases that, um, connection between music and peacebuilding work, which is a tool that Mennonite Action is pretty familiar with because singing and music, um, and the way that they're connected with our emotions can sort of transcend cultural or language barriers that we have with one another, um, when words are falling short. So when engaging with the process of trying to create change, it, it often involves a lot of creativity and art, and I personally love using song and Harmony as a way to do that. Um, so thank you so much for letting me share this space with you, giving a, a brief recap of the Harrisonburg God's love knows no borders action, um, the location that we chose to sing at and why that was special to us. Um, yeah, thank you so much for having me. I wish you guys the best of luck as these actions continue to take place. Um, I'm so grateful to have gathered with my local community here in Harrisonburg in solidarity with one another, um, and in solidarity with all of you across the nation and around the world. Um, thank you so much for your witness.
Oh, right. Good evening everyone. Um, as said in the introductions, my name is Seth Martin, um, and I'm here to highlight the, uh, Mennonite Action, uh, in Washington, DC. Uh, so we have, or, uh, organized with, uh, Christians for a Ceasefire, uh, Franciscan Action Network, and Unknown for Ceasefire and World Without War, uh, we are going to be meeting at the Museum of the Bible, 400 4th Street Southwest, Washington, DC, uh, this Saturday, March 22nd at 9:30, and we are doing a worship in the streets. We're doing a hymn with scripture reading, poetry reading, and handing out educational material on Christian nationalism and Christian Zionism and how it, uh, marginalizes some of the most vulnerable individuals in our community. Why we decided to choose the museum, if anybody on this call has ever been there, um, you may have noticed that there is, um, a lot of, uh, the narrative of the United States being a Christian Nation and that the constitution is based on Christian values. Also within the museum, there's a lot of erasure of Palin and Palestinians. Many of the maps do not recognize Palestine as a state, where, uh, the, or, or recognize the, the tension that, um, that there are Palestinian Christians. Much of the focus of the museum is on the United States. It also does a lot of air within the Civil Rights Movement. Um, there's a large, large, um, showing of, of, or exhibit on Billy Graham and highlights his work in the Civil Rights Movement very, um, largely, but does not have much of a section on Martin Luther King and the history of, um, you know, Christian Connections in the Civil Rights Movement. Uh, so what we are planning to do is just have a worship service outside to just draw attention to scriptures that we feel like highlight the values, um, that we hold as Christians, which is welcoming The Stranger, um, you know, God loves no, uh, no border, uh, and kind of on that theme. So we just are looking forward to being a, a presence that draws people in who may be going to the museum and encouraging them to, to talk with us so that we can have, um, just a little bit of connection with some of these people, as well as also showing people who are just going by that this Museum doesn't speak for all Christians in what they advocate for. Um, we're looking forward, hopefully we'll have some good pictures that we can post, and folks who live within, uh, a few hours drive, uh, we definitely encourage you to come out. We're a small Mennonite community here, and we need to make sure that, uh, you know, there's some good singing, uh, so if folks are interested, uh, you can also just reach out to me in, in the chat or on Slack, and we can, uh, coordinate, um, a Meetup. And again, that's, uh, going to be this Saturday, March 22nd at 9:30 at the Museum of the Bible. So thank you all for, uh, letting us speak here.
Thank you, Seth and Sia. That's really great to hear about what's going on in your parts of the world. I know in Chicago our, um, similar Love Knows No Borders action is happening tomorrow afternoon, and, um, all that you've shared is getting me pretty excited for our own action that's being planned. Um, we now have the chance to hear some updates from some of our partners in the West Bank. We are joined now on this call by Amy Yoda McClaflin. She just got back from her 11th trip to Palestine where she's doing research for her upcoming book. Amy lives in Chester County, Pennsylvania, and the land of the Lape people. She is the Conference Minister with the Allegan Mennonite Conference. Um, so Amy, take it away.
All right. Great. Uh, so good to be with you all this evening. Um, I returned from, uh, a trip to Palestine a few weeks ago, and I'm really grateful for the opportunity to give an update on some of the folks that you've met on calls in the last, uh, 15 months or so. So I'm going to ask, uh, Adam to throw the slides up if you don't mind. I have some, uh, pictures that are reminders of who we're talking about on this call. Uh, this is the, uh, the folks from the Hebron International Resource Network, that is Hammed and Islam, and, uh, Hearn is very busy right now putting together food parcels for Eid so that folks in communities, particularly in Masafer Yatta and the South Hebron Hills, can celebrate with dignity in this holy season of Ramadan. Hammed sends his greetings and his gratitude to all of you at Mennonite Action for your support. The next image is of Ali, who you met on our October call. He and his friend Sammy Heri, uh, were talking, um, on that call about land and the power of land in Palestine. Ali lives in the South Hebron Hills in the community of Tuba. I had really hoped to be able to visit Ali in his, uh, Community, but since last year the military has made it impossible for me to get into Masafer Yatta. There are checkpoints in front of each Community, uh, entrance, and, uh, it's impossible for Internationals, many Internationals to get in. So Ali had to make a trip into Hebron, uh, to visit with me. Uh, he and the community in the, uh, South Hebron Hills have had a really difficult 2025. A few weeks ago, his car, which was the only car in Tuba, uh, was set on fire by settlers, and those settlers also destroyed the barns that, um, are housed, housed the sheep, and also they destroyed the food for the flocks. Uh, it was a very traumatic night in Tuba when that happened. So the destruction of the car was especially an, a blow, a blow to Ali because he was responsible for getting kids back and forth to school safely, otherwise they have to walk down a very dangerous road, uh, past, uh, settlers and Military. It's also a way for him to get the elderly in the village, uh, to and from medical appointments and other, uh, things that they need to do. So, uh, the Center for Jewish Nonviolence did…
A fundraiser for his car, and I'm hoping that he'll get a car again soon. Even though Ali has no vehicle now, he went out of his way to come into Hebron to see me and to update me on what was going on. And he insisted on buying me coffee, which, um, feels like such a moment, an experience of humility for me, to have someone uh in such a difficult situation offer such hospitality and generosity.
The next photo is of Ahmed, who uh gave us an update on a call a few months ago. Here we are in Nablus eating the world's best kanafeh. Uh, but I visited him in Nablus, a city that has faced tremendous uh escalation and violence in the last year. In fact, the day before I visited the city, there were clashes in the old city where we were eating kanafeh, and a Palestinian civilian was murdered. Ahmed is a therapist, and he works to give people tools to handle ongoing traumatic stress. Uh, we often talk about stress like this as post-traumatic stress, but that does not exist in Palestine; it is ongoing traumatic stress. The trouble with this work that he's doing is that where his mental health offices are are often where clashes occur. So imagine trying to give someone resources to deal with ongoing stress and anxiety as you're hearing clashes and smelling tear gas outside the door. Um, but he continues to try to do his best to provide that work.
The next photo is of Amira and Baha, who work with Community Peacemaker teams. Uh, Amira was on our call last month giving an update, and by the way, just a reminder that everyone of these folks who have been on these calls have been on these calls at 3:00 a.m. their time. So uh, it's I have a special gratitude for them and their ability to stay awake. Um, but both Amira and Baha monitor conditions in the old city of Hebron. While I was working with them a few weeks ago, it was the beginning of Ramadan, and the military was barring young men under the age of 27 uh from entering um the Ibrahimi Mosque, which is the third most holy uh site of worship for Muslims, and then for the prayers uh at the uh after Iftar. Um, the checkpoints at the mosque were completely locked, and so there was no way to enter for worship at all.
All right, last slide. I had the opportunity to break the fast with several friends, and I cherish each meal. Uh, Islam and Sadine up here in the top corner are not people that you have met on these calls, but I want to share their story with you. Uh, they live in the community of Anata, which is actually a neighborhood in Jerusalem, but they're on the other side of the wall from uh the main part of Jerusalem. So even though they have a Jerusalem residency, they actually can't get into the old city uh to worship at Al-Aqsa Mosque. I met Islam in 2018 when I lost—I was leading a delegation with Community Peacemaker teams, and I got us lost; it was very embarrassing for me—but uh her and her family rescued me and uh my group, and they um they got us where we needed to go, but made us promise that we would come back the next night for dinner, which we did, and we've been friends ever since. So every time I'm in Palestine, I stop in and see this family. Last year, Islam's brother was arrested and placed in—placed on administrative detention, which is a way for Palestinians to hold—or a way for Israelis to hold Palestinians in prison without charges for as long as they wish. I'm happy to report that on the last set of hostage exchanges between Israel and Hamas that uh Islam's brother was one of the Palestinians set free. So this Ramadan is especially joyful for this family.
If you're anything like me, you're feeling weary from just the constant stream of bad news, but I come back from this latest trip with a real sense of strength and resilience from my friends. Even when the occupation grows more and more intense and scary, Hammed is trying to feed as many people as he can for Eid; Ali is going out of his way to talk to me and stay engaged and open with folks in the International Community; Ahmed is trying to care for people's mental health; Amira and Baha are bearing witness and sharing stories even when it hurts; and Islam is celebrating a brother that was lost but is found again. At Mennonite Action, we do this work of speaking out and bearing witness for these folks and for all of God's beloveds in in Palestine. May their freedom come quickly, inshallah. Amen. Amen.
Thank you, Amy, for that sharing. Um, it's so encouraging to see those faces of people that we've gotten to know a little bit um over this last year of calls. For our final song, let's sing from Voices Together number 36, “Let Us Build a House.” [Music]
Love and wonder, all saints and children, tell hearts to yearn for dreams and visions, from the fount of grace, the Christ, all in this. Let us build a house where love will reach the poor and to heal and strengthen, serve and teach, and show the world the alt—and the stranger, the image of God’s face, bring to fear and danger, well in this place. The house where all their hearts and visions, and tears and wounds of grace, for evermore, in this place. [Music]
Good evening, everyone. Thank you again for being here with us tonight. I'm so thankful for who we have been able to hear from this evening. Um, my name is Lauren Esh; I am part of the Mennonite Action staff. Um, I'm in the role of Distributed Organizer as of about a month ago, and I'm calling in today from Lapwai, Idaho, which is Shoshone-Bannock land, and I use she/her pronouns. Um, I have—I think—gotten under my feet over the past month in—or gotten my feet under me over the—over the past month, and I've felt really invigorated by the connections that I've made so far, and I'm excited for the connections that I will continue to make. So thank you so much for your time and your dedication to this. Um, a lot of what I've been working on has been connecting with folks who are part of local chapters um and plugging people into our God's Love Knows No Borders action um national mobilization; so connecting people uh to local actions and also making sure that action leaders are feeling supported um through um recruitment and other communication um and uh emails and things like that. So I look forward to connecting and getting to know all of you folks, um support your needs, and um keep growing this incredible work.
I'm going to give a little bit of an um of an update, and to do that I am going to ground us in our um principles here for our call this evening. Just want to remind and center us in these principles: that people, peace, public action, power, prayer, and liberation—those are powerful words. So I want to give a few updates um as far as the organization of Mennonite Action goes. Um, I want to remind folks about our Frontlight podcast. Um, if you haven't listened to this podcast, I highly recommend it. It is hosted by two members of the pastoral team, Johnny Rasheed and Joanna Lawrence Shank. It is—um—the editor and producer of Frontlight is Ken Ogasawara, who is a member of our Communications committee, and our most recent episode is an interview with Jonathan Brenneman, um a Palestinian American Christian and Mennonite. Um, so so definitely worth a listen; check it out on Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts.
Our Mennonite Action staff have been doing some traveling over the past little while. So um over the weekend of February 21st, Mennonite Action staff were in Harrisonburg for a staff retreat um at—and um Eastern Mennonite University's Intercollegiate Peace Conference. Um, during this time we held um a staff retreat where we got to be together for um the first time since um our new staff has been um on the team, so it was great to be together. Um, we were able to plan our priorities for the next three to six months, and we also offered trainings on non-violent direct action, and Adam and Nick gave keynote addresses on opposing Christian nationalism and Christian Zionism. Then over the week of March 1st, Adam and Nick were able to attend the Hope for the Future conference and the 30th anniversary of the Damascus Road anti-racism process, and they had the opportunity to build relationships and learn from many different BIPOC organizers um and leaders across the denomination. That was uh really powerful to be part of.
So I will be discussing how we are working to organize, what our priorities are for 2025 um as we move through this spring, and how we are continuing to be grounded in our work. We are committed to um working to move Christians to publicly speak out against the genocide and occupation of Palestine and Christian Zionism, and we want to publicly demonstrate our an alternate—an alternative to the Trump administration's Christian nationalist ideology. We are committed to um organizing for Gaza and Palestine by organizing for the safety of our Arab American, Palestinian, Muslim, and Jewish neighbors in our communities, by pressuring corporate targets and federal and state-level policymakers, by joining in with interfaith coalition partners, and by committing to mutual aid for Palestinians in your local communities. We, as Mennonite Action, will continue to provide resources and help you do this work in your communities, um and um we'll do that together.
We are also committed to organizing against Christian nationalism. We want to continue this work; we must continue the connection between um between far-right Christian nationalist policies that target our most vulnerable neighbors at home with the Christian Zionist policies that target Palestinians here in the US and in Palestine. Both of those ideologies are used to uphold racial capitalism in the US and um empire, and we will—um—we want to and will organize and take action to support our most vulnerable neighbors. So the important question: how do we do this? And um one of the ways that we—that we continue to acknowledge—one of the ways that we um find our way in um this action is acknowledging the moment that we're in, the political moment that we see ourselves in right now. The Trump administration is targeting all facets of society, and Trump is calling to develop Gaza into real estate, that has given the Israeli government the green light to resume its genocidal campaign. Um, like we mentioned earlier, we're seeing how the Trump administration is using the carceral state as a weapon, targeting people's immigration status for speaking up for Palestine. People are being ripped from their families, um and ICE raids continue, all while federal agencies are being completely gutted. As many of us know, in this there is an opportunity to bring more people into our movement by choosing to step into this movement, into this moment, and show up publicly as Mennonites and as Christians and take nonviolent mass action for Palestine, um for undocumented neighbors, for our trans and queer neighbors, and for the safety of our whole communities.
So as um we acknowledge our um the political moment, we—one of the ways that we are acting is by urging Congress to demand the release of Mahmoud Khalil, um who we briefly mentioned earlier, has been um detained by uh the Department of Homeland Security on Saturday, March 8. Um, his detention is a targeted act of political repression. Um, we will not stand for our political leaders um wielding the weight of the immigration system as punishment for speaking for Palestinian liberation. We will let our leaders know that there are Christians and Mennonites who speak loudly for justice, who stand up for freedom, and to act in solidarity with our marginalized neighbors. We remember that our faith calls on us to follow in the example of Jesus Christ, who called us to always stand with the oppressed and to set the prisoners free. In order to um support Mahmoud, um we have a petition going out; you can fill out the form to um contact your representatives and um petition for his release. That’s dropped in the chat.
Another way, um as um some of our um action leaders have mentioned earlier, we are working to enact and um support God's Love Knows No Borders actions um for our national mobilization. This call to action is that um we want to call on Mennonites and friends to hold nonviolent public worship services in public places to show our communities that God's love knows no borders. Um, we will hold these services because we will not be silent; together we will speak out against Christian nationalism, against tearing apart immigrant families, against violence and occupation everywhere, and we will take mass action for Palestine um and for um our undocumented neighbors, for the safety of our communities. Our liberation is bound together. Um, taking action together in um a public form um as a form of public witness. Um, we want to show our communities that we come as Mennonites and Christians who say uh no to rising Christian nationalism, who reject a cruel and violent theology that seeks to divide and exclude and pit people against each other. So as um we mentioned prior, we've had a couple of actions that have happened; we've had San Francisco; we've also had um Harrisonburg this past weekend, and we are looking to continue um to add to the list of actions that are happening across the nation and Canada as well. We've got ones that are—we've got 17 planned, um we're hoping to hit 20, and if you feel compelled to um rally people together and get an action off the ground, we would love to support you, um and we'd love to um get that planned with you. We so far um yeah have them all over—we have one in Fresno, California; Broyhill, North Carolina; many other places. Um, again, if you'd like to join us um either for an action, you want to see where an action is near you, or get one started if there isn't one already planned near you, um you can contact us at info@menoniteaction.org, um and we can help you with all of that. We've also got a toolkit um where you can find more information about um getting an action together and have all the—all the tools you need for that.
These are a couple pictures um from our action in San Francisco um just to give some visual of the powerful things that have been happening over the past few weeks. Um, there was singing and um yeah, I love this um chalk circle that they wrote um different things on—hearts. Um, it's a really um colorful and lovely thing to have in action. And in Harrisonburg um they held a march, um so we can see our Mennonite Action um folks here marching together.
So what can you do now? In addition to um those two things that I've just mentioned, um we are having a meeting on war tax resistance as a public action. So on April 10, Mennonite Action and First Mennonite of San Francisco will be hosting a call on war tax resistance from public—as a form of public action. Um, we will explore Christian and Mennonite legacies of resistance and redirection to war taxes, and we'll learn about examples of movements that have used tax resistance to change the forces of power in the world around them, um and we will discuss how Mennonites might use tax resistance as a form of collective public action to apply pressure um to powerful institutions who um have that—that loud voice. Um, you can see the link also in the chat for the previous and also this one that I will speak about if you would like to join us for these things.
Our Movement Safety Gathering um is a place to acknowledge that many of us are feeling fearful for our neighbors, for Palestinians, and for ourselves in this moment, as the US government is becoming more oppressive and increasing surveillance and taking action against people who are standing up for peace and justice. Um, and in this political climate, we uh we can't choose to be quiet, and we want to continue to take action and stand up for one another and also um talk about safety. Um, this will happen on April 16th, and Mennonite Action will host an evening gathering where we'll commit to hold um on to and uplift the safety of our neighbors, um of each other, and learn some practical tips for staying safe in person and online um in this um political moment. So please uh join us for that.
Another action is our Mennonite Action National Training. This is going to be held um in Raleigh, North Carolina, preceding Mennonite Convention. Um, so if you're going to convention or you didn't know—if you're going, this is a great reason to join us too. Um, the training will um open with a worship service and gathering in the evening of Sunday, July 6th, and continue with an all-day training on public action and grassroots organizing on Monday, July 7th. Um, this training is open to any participant—participant of Mennonite Action. The training is free; um there will be a suggested donation for attendees to help cover the cost um of hosting the training, um and we're really thankful for our W—folks who are helping us out with organizing that—for that—for that training. Um, we will be um providing transportation—shuttles from Raleigh to Greensboro for those needing a ride to Convention after our training. Um, food will also be provided during our training, um and during our training participants can opt to stay with host families or purchase a hotel room. Um, there will likely also be some mass sleeping space um available at Raleigh Mennonite Church, which we will continue to update you on. So we've released a new toolkit with the proposed agenda for this training um to give a logistical overview and a comprehensive registration form for the training. So um again uh thank you so much to Mennonite Action Triangle, NC, for hosting. Um, they've been working a lot on those logistics for the training, so we hope that a lot of you can join us and we can um be there together to gain some uh practical um training skills and also just be uh in community together.
Then um to continue Mennonite Action at um at Mennonite Convention, Mennonite Action will be attending um in Greensboro, North Carolina, um after our training. Um, we will—the organization will be a part of the Big Booth table, um and Mennonite Action leaders will be holding several workshop sessions throughout convention, so you can look out for those. Um, we would um invite you to show up at Convention as a Mennonite Action member; um wear your Mennonite Action gear; we'd love to be visible that way, and be prepared to um be an emissary for our movement; be visible. So um we would love to use Convention as an opportunity to grow our movement and talk to more folks about what we're doing and plug in. Early registration for Convention is open until March 31st; you can get a link for that also in the chat.
Lastly, I have a monthly donors update. Um, thank you to all of you who have been—who we've been in conversation with um regarding donors and growing our—our donor base. Um, as you know, um myself and um Bria have been um uh joined to the team as well as Eden, and we are—I'm really excited uh to keep growing as an organization, and we need um your help to keep doing that and keep um supporting all the work that's going on. Um, these resources help us to be able to coordinate mass action, to host local trainings, and to sustain um yeah the growing of this movement for the long term, because we want um Mennonite Action to be long-term. Um, our new staff members will be working with local chapters, like I mentioned, every day to provide more support to chapter members, including um one-on-one meetings and trainings, resources, and um giving out resources. All this support will enable local Mennonite Action groups to plan actions, mobilizations, host coalition events, and lobby days. Um, and as we know, fear and violence and hate are on the rise, um and we feel that it's important to rise um as well to meet that. In order to make that possible, um yeah, we're asking that folks become monthly donors of Mennonite Action so we can meet the moment. Um, we have a goal of reaching 750 monthly donors by the end of this year, um and we are asking for uh small monthly donors um because um that will um be a supportive and a long-lasting way for us to um to continue. As I mentioned before, um those monthly donors matter because that means that we are spending less time on fundraising and more time on organizing. Um, we um yeah value the work of organizing, and um we are grateful for resources to be able to keep doing that. Um, if Mennonite Action has a sustainable source of income each month, it means that we can project our resources into the future and make plans and uh be able to support chapters. Also means we get to spend less time chasing large donors or grants and can focus on the—the important uh justice-based work that we believe in. Um, and also small monthly donors keep us accountable. So this is a way of voicing your support for the organization and uh come into community with us. Um, our current average is approximately $30 a month, and this would put us at a stable financial position. Um, getting 750 monthly donors by the end um to ensure that our staff salaries are paid and um basic expenses would um be paid each month too. So our quarterly goal, to break it down a little bit, um by March 31st we are hoping to get 300 um monthly donors. Um, we currently have 215, so we are um getting close and uh nearly 50 more than we had in February. So that—thank you so so much um for the folks who have been monthly donors, who are becoming monthly donors, who have donated um before in general. This um does not go unnoticed, and we are so grateful for your support and contribution.
Um, to speak a little bit more about our um the ways that we are trying to get the word out about our monthly donor drive is um we've been uh contacting different congregations and um asking folks to make announcements in their churches across the US and Canada um to have their congregants think about becoming monthly donors to Mennonite Action. So on March 23rd, on Sunday, um we'll be asking folks to make announcements in um our churches, um and this could look like making an announcement verbally, talking to people after the service, or putting a bulletin in the announcement, or recruiting people that you—having your small group. Um, so far we have 25 different congregations, which is so exciting, and we're so grateful for—and we're hoping maybe we can get five more if there's folks who are interested and able to um get this word out in their church. Um, we have um some links in the chat, and if you're interested in um talking to your um congregation, we have some resources for that, and you can reach out.
So I wanted to say again a big thank you to um everyone who is participating in all the different ways that you can, for um being committed to being in community together, to having solidarity with our immigrant neighbors, with our Palestinian neighbors, and um we're so thankful to be meeting this moment um with you all. Um, and I'm personally also very thankful to be here and to uh continue connecting with you all. Um, thank you for um yeah being a light and showing us hope in this time. I am going to pass it to Nate to do our closing prayer.
Thank you so much, Lauren, for uh for all of that, and thank you Mennonite Action for everything that you're doing. Um, you help us—congregations and individuals—put our feet on the ground in a world that is uh where it's so easy to get paralyzed. It's really great to be partnering with people and Mennonites um around—around our country to uh to be putting our feet on the ground in this. So thank you so much. Thank you everyone for being here; uh it's really great to to sing together, to to listen together. Uh, let's pray as we close. As we close today, dear Creator, Liberator, and Spirit, we carry in our hearts so many things: anger and grief and sorrow and hope, and we give these things um to you, Lord. I thank you for the work of Mennonite Action um that helps us to really put our feet on the ground, to work at loving our neighbors near and far in really concrete ways. So I want to close with that same blessing that we began.
With Lord, give us your anger at injustice, oppression, and exploitation of people, so that we may work for justice, freedom, and peace. And Lord, bless us with your tears to shed for those who suffer pain, rejection, hunger, and war, so that we may reach out our hands to comfort them and turn their pain to joy. And Lord, bless us with enough foolishness to believe that we can make a difference in the world, so that you can do, so that we can do what others claim cannot be done, to bring justice and kindness to all our children and the poor, in your name. Amen. So go in peace, anger, tears, and foolishness, and serve the Lord. Amen. Hum. [Music] Won't be divided, with spirit to guide us. [Music]
Right in hope in pray we find ourselves here in a home. In pray we're right here. In hope in prayer we find ourselves here. In hope in pray we right here. And [Applause] we all of the children rise. [Applause] Elders with [Applause] wisdom, ancestors surround us. [Applause] Right in hope in pray we find ourselves here. In hope in pray we're right here. In hope in pray we find ourselves here. In hope in pray we I here and we rise up from the wck. [Applause] [Music] With tears and with [Applause] [Music] courage, fighting for life. We in a hope in pray we find ourselves here. In a hope in pray we right here. In hope in pray we find ourselves here. In hope in pray we right here and we're humbly hearted. [Applause] Right, won't be divided, with spirit to guide us.