"On Sunday (Jan. 18), an unplanned liturgy of 'ICE out!' and 'Justice for Renee Good!' erupted in the sanctuary of a Southern Baptist church in St. Paul, Minnesota. Activists marched into the building to protest the fact that one of the congregation’s pastors is the acting director of the St. Paul ICE field office."
~ Brian Kaylor
#Trump #ICE #Minnesota #fascism #SouthernBaptists
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https://publicwitness.wordandway.org/p/protesters-disrupt-southern-baptist
"David Easterwood, who is one of the pastors listed on the website of Cities Church in St. Paul, appeared on C-SPAN in October as acting director for the St. Paul ICE field office. Speaking during a press conference with Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, Easterwood talked about being 'proud' of leading his ICE team."
"[Jonathan] Parnell [lead pastor of Cities Church] also serves on the board of trustees of Bethlehem College and Seminary in Minneapolis, a school founded by Baptist Calvinist preacher John Piper. Last week, a professor at that school used the Sunday service at another church in the area to pray for God to bless ICE and 'break the teeth' of ICE’s opponents."
"As videos of the protest quickly spread on social media Sunday, Angela Denker, a Lutheran minister in Minneapolis, praised the activists 'for holding [Eastwood] and his congregation accountable.'"
"'You cannot worship a Savior on Sunday who was crucified by a violent State, while the rest of the week acting as a violent agent of an unjust state force who is killing and targeting Americans according to hate,' added Denker, author of Disciples of White Jesus. 'Christian Nationalism is diametrically opposed to the gospel of Jesus.'"
