Six New Things – Week of January 12, 2026

It has been a tragic, terrifying week.

Renee Nicole Good’s life was ended by federal agents.

Untold others have been traumatized; lives have been irrevocably changed through separation, kidnapping, disappearing. Parents have been taken – leaving their children behind in coffee shops, cars, gas stations. Our schools are conflict zones. Businesses have to post 4th Amendment rights signs in an effort to create some form of safety for workers and customers.

‘This is not normal.’

This week, I offer six quotes. These are not necessarily ‘new’. They are pieces of wisdom, comfort, courage, and call gleaned over a week of chaos and trauma – and movement, organizing, and powerful love.

ONE

“I’ve never understood how Gospel means, ‘Good News’. Now I understand: feeding neighbors afraid to go out for groceries; offering medical care to gunshot victims and those brutalized by federal agents; driving kids to and from school for their safety; protesting wrongful abductions and imprisonment… In the face of empire’s lies and cruelty, these are good news!’ – Life-long Christian and member of Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church, Minneapolis

‘The Spirit of God is upon me, because God has anointed me to bring good news to [the oppressed] poor, [to bind up the brokenhearted], to proclaim [liberty to the captives] and release to the prisoners and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of Divine favor…’ – Luke 4:18-19; Isaiah 61:1ff

*Where do you get your news?

Here’s a summary of what is happening in Minneapolis and St Paul. If you have parishioners who remain skeptical or apathetic, please encourage them to read this brief account.

It is spreading to the Iron Range, the Northwoods, and Western Prairies of Minnesota. The surge of troops is intended for the entire state. No one will be untouched.

The human brutality is egregious. The numbers are staggering. The toll is enormous.

*When so much news is terrible, where are you finding Good News?

SPIRITUAL CARE IS BEING PROVIDED DAILY FOR RAPID RESPONDERS / UPSTANDERS. If you would like to access this for yourself or others, please let me know via text: 651.279.1677.

TWO

‘The Party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command.’ – 1984, George Orwell

‘Let those with eyes to see, see; and with ears to hear, hear…’ (Deuteronomy 29:2-4ff; Mark 4:9, 23; 8:18; Luke 8:8; 14:35; Acts 7:51; Romans 11:8)

Help more eyes to see and ears to hear with a low-risk and high-impact intergenerational action of sign-making and posting. Create signs – or simply print out and laminate a single sheet stating, ‘A person was abducted by ICE here on [XYZ date].’

[The sign in the photo includes the defend612.com url; see below for more on that.]

Placing signs is as simple as attaching them to a tree, sticking them in the ground (or snow), or adhering them to a wall or building (with permission).

We shared a remembrance of the human being taken, a song, a prayer, and a blessing when placing one immediately outside our church this Sunday: staff and neighbors witnessed an abduction just outside their office windows.

Family groups are placing them in neighborhoods with very little ceremony – simply a quiet moment of remembrance.

Ensure that neighbors continue to see and hear what is happening; that we remember those who are being taken; that we recognize the families left behind; that we honor the inherent dignity of each person stolen.

THREE

This is, as many are articulating, ‘the fight of our lives’.

Now is the time.

We are the people.

The ways to engage are many; some are listed in the post (above).

Other ways to be Good News include:

~Ensure neighbors and local businesses know their rights:

~Encourage local businesses to become 4th Amendment Workplaces. (See more below.)

~Get and share legal education Red Cards. Get them into everyone’s hands.

~Post signs anywhere you are granted permission.

 

 

 

 

~Invite folx to become Upstanders and/or Constitutional Observers. Local and online trainings are popping up everywhere. For safety and security, learn about these through local groups. See also Monarca’s opportunities in Seasonal Offerings.

~Learn about and amplify upcoming events and actions. Indivisible Minnesota has some important ones.

FOUR

When asked, ‘When will this end?’

Gwen Walz, Minnesota’s First Lady, responded: ‘It will end when enough people say it needs to end.’

Sounds a lot like:

Road sign in front of a Wisconsin CSA.

‘Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s NOT!’ – The Lorax, Dr. Seuss

God desires our engagement! (Rev. 3:14-15)

Everyone can engage – regardless of location! In fact, out-state, rural, small church communities: you have an incredibly important role, right now: YOUR VOICE MATTERS IMMENSELY!!!

ISAIAH has shared numerous acts available to all community members.  Two in particular: EVERYONE can (daily!) call their congresspeople and other elected officials. Here’s one prompt.

The demands are these:

  1. Jonathan Ross needs to be prosecuted for the murder of Renee Good.
  2. ICE out of Minnesota NOW.
  3. Congress needs to do its job and hold Kristi Noem, Trump, and ICE accountable for these atrocities.
  4. Cut the ICE budget (funding will be renewed on Jan. 31st.)

Those with Reps who have historically ignored you: please keep trying! Yes, you have an oversized lift, but some of their colleagues have shifted on some topics – maybe your voice will tip the scales toward justice!

Please keep calling and writing!!!! It makes a HUGE difference.

FIVE

As one ‘wise organizer’ said, ‘If you’re going to do something, the time to do it is NOW. Some of the ways we protest and resist MAY NO LONGER BE AVAILABLE TO US  in a few months.’

The second ISAIAH action:

Target Target (800.440.0680) – whether you have a store in your community or not: Hold Target accountable and invite them into new community relationships as a 4th Amendment workplace.

Here’s a shareable letter to prepare participants.

Here’s the whole invitation, including tactics, a training, the asks, and follow-up.

One wave of folx visited Target stores across Minnesota on Monday, January 12.

Here’s a note from Rev. Anna Madsen about her interaction in a Duluth Target. Share the posted phone numbers!!!

SIX

‘Fear is the weapon of empire. Action is the antidote.’

The best action we can take these days is building community.

Surround our neighbors with powerful love: the bold, loud love of protest and vigil; the quiet, gentle love of mutual aid and compassion.

From Ash to Action: Even the Stones Cry Out is an ecumenical, intergenerational toolkit with access points for everyone: preaching, discussion, and action text reflections from Working Preacher, ISAIAH, and Deacon Dr. Diane Jacobson; organizing skills-building practices from Dave ‘Agape’ Scherer; spiritual practices from Rev. Emily Meyer; liturgical elements, poetry, and meditations from the 2026 EcoFaith Summit Organizing Team; music from the movement; children’s books and more from The Ministry Lab.

Register to receive a preview here. The Toolkit spans Ash Wednesday through Palm Sunday and will be ready to share by late January.

~~~

It has been a tragic, terrifying week.

‘Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.’ – The Lorax, Dr. Seuss