Common Good prayer service held

Fe Y Justicia, The Multicultural Center and CSB Campus Ministry joined together to put on a “Common Good Prayer Service” in response to both the influx of immigration agents and sexual violence in the community.

The event included two testimonials of detained and deported individuals as well as a series of prayers for those affected by the sexual assaults that took place on campus.

Director of CSB Campus Ministry Cindy Gonzalez gave the opening remarks, reflecting on the fear and anxiety that she said students had been expressing.

“We said we needed to just come together again to pray, to gain some common strength, both in terms of our faith, but also in terms of our willingness to really take on and think about how can we offer something that will change this chaotic climate,” Gonzalez said.

Gonzalez also highlighted the importance of student involvement and intergenerational collaboration from the sisters and students on campus.

“The goal of this service is to kind of inspire our community and that even in the midst of chaos and violence, we find stability by doing the very things that we shouldn’t take for granted, which is the opportunity to come together,” Gonzalez said.

The community also held a moment of silence for Minnesota native U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Nicole Amor, who was killed in Kuwait on Sunday, March 1 after the U.S. launched a military campaign against Iran the day prior.

Patty Keeling, lead organizer of Fe y Justicia, a non-profit in the Waite Park area, read a testimony from a young woman here on student visa from Kenya who was detained in her apartment complex parking lot on Jan. 21 and brought to Fort Snelling where she would stay with other detainees until her release on Feb. 19.

“The first 24 hours [were] the hours that changed me… I thought I was prepared… but standing in that parking lot along terrified me, surrounded by strange men,” the testimony read. “There I was in chains – cold, confused and handled like a criminal.”

The Sisters of St. Benedict then led the congregation in a series of prayers, many of which were said when the sisters hosted their first Common Good prayer service back in January after Renee Good died at the hands of an ICE agent.

“One of the things that binds and holds us together as a community is the fact that we pray [together] regularly,” said Sr. Kerry O’Reilly, the planning director for the CSB monastery.

“In prayer we come together and let our faith support each other and all of us as we bring to God our fears and hopes and give praise too,” O’Reilly said. “And our loving, generous God offers responds to us and offers what we need to be strong and loving for the world around us. Right now, so much violence brings us together in prayer so our creative God can act through us.”

The second testimony was written by the wife of a 77-year-old man deported to Honduras and read by Fe Y Justicia representative Perla Ramos.

“We are suffering from the absence of his presence, his hugs,” the testimony read. “He never had a problem with the law, not even a ticket… my husband was detained for 43 days. Those days were filled with anger [and] fear.”

Finally, CSB junior Teresa Kopecky and SJU senior Rito Reyes read a list of intentions and led the community in prayer.

“As people of faith, we pray for open hearts and wide-open eyes as we work together for the courage to create a community where all are welcomed and valued,” Kopecky and Reyes said.