A US bishop has warned clergy to prepare for what he described as a possible “new era of martyrdom” as tensions grow around immigration enforcement and social justice.
Bishop Rob Hirschfeld of the Episcopal Church of New Hampshire made the remarks at a vigil earlier this month, where he was honouring Renee Good, who was fatally shot on 7th January by a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer.
Speaking to clergy and worshippers, Bishop Rob urged Christian leaders to be spiritually and practically prepared, including by finalising their wills.
The bishop pointed to historical examples of Christian sacrifice, including Jonathan Daniels, a seminary student killed in 1965 while protecting a young civil rights activist.
He said Christians may again be called to physically stand between power and the vulnerable.
“I have told the clergy of the Episcopal diocese of New Hampshire that we may be entering into that same witness,” Bishop Rob said.
“And I’ve asked them to get their affairs in order, to make sure they have their wills written, because it may be that now is no longer the time for statements, but for us with our bodies, to stand between the powers of this world and the most vulnerable.”
He stressed he was not calling for violence but urged Christians not to fear death. “Those of us who are ready to build a new world, we also have to be prepared,” he said.
Other Episcopal leaders, including Most Rev Sean Rowe and Rt Rev Craig Loya, have echoed the message, urging Christians to care for immigrants and refugees and to respond to injustice with love.
“We are going to disrupt with Jesus’ hope. We are going agitate with Jesus’ love,” Rev Loys said.
Meanwhile, the Trump administration said on Saturday it was appealing a ruling by a federal judge that put limits on tactics employed by US immigration agents operating in Minneapolis.
In a brief filing, lawyers for the Department of Justice told the court they were appealing an order issued by the judge on Friday that barred federal officers from arresting or tear-gassing peaceful demonstrators and observers.
The order was in response to a lawsuit filed against the US Department of Homeland Security and other federal agencies on 17th December, three weeks before an immigration agent fatally shot Ms Good.
The Trump administration has sent thousands of immigration agents to the Minneapolis area in recent weeks as part of a campaign to ramp up deportations of people in the country without authorisation.
Tensions over the deployment have mounted considerably since an ICE agent fatally shot Good.
The court case was brought on behalf of six protesters and observers who claimed their constitutional rights had been infringed by the actions of ICE agents.
The order explicitly prohibits federal officers from detaining people who are peacefully protesting or merely observing the officers, unless there is reasonable suspicion that they are interfering with law enforcement or have committed a crime.
Federal agents also are banned from using pepper spray, tear gas or other crowd-control munitions against peaceful demonstrators or bystanders observing and recording the immigration enforcement operations.