Staff Report
A vigil for immigrant justice will be from 11 a.m. to noon Wednesday, Feb. 25, in front of Homer United Methodist Church, 770 East End Road.
The focus of the vigil will be prayerful advocacy for Sonia Espinoza Arriaga and her three children who were taken from Soldotna on Feb. 17 by Immigration and Custom Enforcement agents. Arriaga and her two youngest children, ages 5 and 16, were deported to Mexico and are now in safe housing under the care of church networks, according to a story in the Anchorage Daily News. The oldest child, Alexis Arriaga, 18, was not deported and is now at the Northwest Detention Center, a privately run ICE facility in Tacoma, Washington.
Rev. Blake Langston, pastor of HUMC, will begin the vigil with opening remarks and prayer. He will be followed by testimonies of those who have witnessed injustice toward immigrants or feel moved to speak. The vigil will close with a call to action, according to a press release from organizers.
The Homer vigil is part of “Faithful Resistance: A Public Witness for Immigrant Justice,” a national event organized by the United Methodist Church and other faith groups happening in Washington, D.C., and elsewhere on the same day.
The sponsor of the local event is the HUMC Civic Engagement Group.
Gary Lyon, a member of that group and one of the organizers of the Wednesday event, said the 11 a.m. start time was chosen in solidarity with the 11 a.m. Eastern start time of the national event, which will be live streamed in D.C. Approximately 1,200 people are expected to make a peaceful procession to the U.S. Capitol, followed by speeches and visits with members of Congress.
For Lyon, the vigil is a partial answer to the question: How do you react in faith to three murders by our government or the detention and deportation of a Soldotna family?
“We’re responding with a vigil centered in love and peace,” he said. “We’re drawing ourselves together and supporting each other.”
In a press release organizers emphasize that the event is “seeking justice and the humane treatment of immigrants, refugees and asylum seekers.” It is not an anti-ICE protest.
They suggest signs with the names or photos of those who have died, suffered or experienced injustice in the immigration process, including Sonia Espinoza Arriaga and her three children, as well as the three U.S. citizens who have been killed by ICE agents: Reuben Ray Martinez, Renee Nicole Good, and Alex Jeffrey Pretti.
Organizers also encourage signs with inspirational and scriptural texts about love, neighbors, immigrants, justice and due process. They request that there be no anti-ICE signs.
Participants will gather at 11 a.m. Wednesday in the HUMC parking lot on the knoll in front of the stained-glass window. Primary parking is the overflow parking area directly east and adjacent to the church across from Fireweed Academy. Secondary parking is on either side of the church but away from the gathering sport.
More information about the local and national events is available on the HUMC Civic Engagement web page, https://www.humccivicengagement.com/
Leave a Reply