Public Statement & Prayer
Today, our hearts are heavy.
We know that a woman was killed in Minneapolis during an encounter involving federal immigration enforcement. Regardless of the legal processes still unfolding, the loss of life itself demands our moral attention, our grief, and our resolve.
At the Minnesota Council of Churches, we speak from a faith tradition that insists every human being is created in the image of God. From Genesis to the prophets, from the Psalms to the Gospels, we are reminded again and again that the measure of a society is how it treats the most vulnerable in its midst.
No one in our state should have to leave their home in fear that an ordinary day could end in detention, arrest, or physical harm. Fear is not safety. Violence is not order. And policies or actions that sow terror in our neighborhoods are neither just nor sustainable.
This moment calls us away from hardened partisan positions and toward our shared humanity. What we are witnessing is unprecedented, unwarranted, and deeply destructive—fracturing trust, destabilizing communities, and intensifying polarization at a time when our nation desperately needs moral clarity and courageous restraint.
Some may dismiss prayer as passive. But for people of faith, prayer is not retreat—it is resistance. Prayer is how we align our hearts with justice. Prayer is how we refuse to surrender to hatred, division, and violence. Prayer is how we summon the courage to act with compassion when fear is being weaponized.
Therefore, we call for a statewide focus of prayer—in churches, mosques, synagogues, and all sacred spaces—praying for peace, for the safety of our neighbors, and for the grieving family of the woman killed today. We pray for wisdom for leaders at every level, that decisions may be guided not by ideology or expediency, but by conscience and care for human life.
The prophets teach us that justice is not optional. Love of neighbor is not negotiable. And silence in the face of suffering is not faithfulness.
May we choose a better way—together.
A Prayer for Peace
Holy One—
Source of life and love—
We grieve a life lost today in Minneapolis
And we hold close the family now walking through sorrow.
Draw near to them with comfort and peace.
You did not create your children to live in fear.
You formed us for dignity, safety, and care for one another.
Turn our hearts away from violence and division
And back toward justice, compassion, and wisdom.
Guide our leaders to act from conscience, not fear,
And remind us of our shared humanity.
Strengthen us not only to pray for peace,
But to live it—
Protecting the vulnerable, welcoming the stranger,
And choosing love over hatred.
Until justice and peace embrace,
Keep us faithful.
Amen. Ameen. May it be so.
—Elder Suzanne Kelly
CEO, Minnesota Council of Churches