On Friday, January 23, 2026, Minnesotans across the state are being called to participate in “ICE Out of Minnesota: A Day of Truth and Freedom.” This is a statewide day of nonviolent moral action and reflection, inviting people to step away from work, school, and shopping and instead engage in community, conscience, and collective action.
As a Minnesota-based company rooted in faith, Worship Times will be closed on January 23 in solidarity with this call. We join faith leaders and community members across the state who believe this moment requires not business as usual, but moral clarity.
Our decision is grounded first and foremost in the witness of scripture and the life of Jesus Christ. Throughout the gospels, Jesus stands with those who live under fear, precarity, and exclusion. His ministry consistently affirms the dignity of people made vulnerable by political power, ethnic difference, and social marginalization. When policies or practices contradict these commitments, faith calls us not to silence, but to truth.
Jesus’ own life begins as one marked by displacement. As an infant, he becomes a refugee, fleeing state violence with his family:
“Get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt…” (Matthew 2:13, NRSV)
From the beginning, Christ is identified with families seeking safety across borders.
Jesus teaches that protecting the vulnerable is not optional; it is a defining mark of faithfulness. He warns against harming the innocent and causing fear among children and families (Matthew 18:6). He places care for the foreigner at the very center of divine judgment, saying:
“I was a stranger and you welcomed me.” (Matthew 25:35)
The measure of righteousness, Jesus teaches, is not legal status or ethnic belonging, but whether we choose hospitality, mercy, and protection.
This call echoes the Hebrew Scriptures Jesus affirms:
“You shall not oppress a resident alien; you know the heart of an alien.” (Exodus 23:9)
The memory of liberation demands resistance to systems that rely on fear, intimidation, and dehumanization, especially when those systems disproportionately harm non-white and immigrant communities.
Jesus’ ministry consistently crosses boundaries enforced by racial, ethnic, and political power. He heals across enemy lines, speaks with those deemed unacceptable, and makes a foreigner the moral exemplar of neighborly love. In every case, holiness is revealed not through exclusion, but through compassion.
For these reasons, we cannot remain silent when contemporary enforcement tactics rely on fear as a tool of control. Such practices stand in direct tension with the witness of Jesus, who tells his followers, “Do not be afraid” (Matthew 10:31), and reminds us that “perfect love casts out fear” (1 John 4:18).
Minnesota is our home. Our coworkers, partners, neighbors, and worshiping communities include immigrants, refugees, and families who live under constant uncertainty. Participating in this day is a way to say clearly: fear has no place in our faith or our future.
Our participation is not rooted in partisanship but in discipleship. To follow Jesus is to affirm the God-given dignity of every person and to reject systems that normalize harm to the innocent and the foreigner.
On January 23, we choose truth over silence, love over fear, and faith expressed through action. We invite our community to reflect, to listen, and to stand with those most impacted, because this, we believe, is what faithfulness looks like now.
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fishmiller says:
Thank you for taking a stand.