We Move Now Before It’s Too Late

Thanks to Leona Waller for this concise action plan.

Waller writes begins her post with these words:

‘Watching our government slide towards fascism… [has ] been consistently concerning, but also not quite concerning enough. It’s registered for many people on the level of ‘I should keep an eye on this’ but below ‘I should put aside other priorities and focus on this’.

But this moment feels different…

So we move NOW, while the injustice is searing our hearts.

We ALL move now, while no one can ignore what’s happening.’

Waller urges all Americans to take just three of the five action steps she lists – immediately – in order to ‘stop ICE in its tracks’.

She also highlights the Minneapolis Area Synod’s (ELCA) SALUTE neighborhood watch training slide presentation. If you haven’t yet, your congregation could (and should) share this with all your neighbors.

But that’s getting ahead of ourselves.

[Activator alert: she also drops a couple swear words – primarily to underscore the righteous anger and rage we’re all feeling.]

Waller’s ‘current game plan’ includes actions accessible to people just about everywhere, with any kind of budget, and in any type of community, including:

  1. Call your Senators (cost: 2-5 min)
  2. Donate to legal funds supporting immigrants and ICE detainees (cost: whatever you can spare)
  3. Divest from companies supporting ICE (cost: first-world convenience and comforts)
  4. Prepare for ICE coming to your neighborhood (cost: 2-6 hours)
  5. Do a ‘lit drop’ (cost: $10-20 and 1-2 hours)

Waller includes all the necessary resources to follow through on each step, including links to orgs to support and businesses to boycott/divest from.

Her ‘cost analysis’ (parenthetical, above) graciously calculates these expenses of time and money. What is missing from that equation, though, are the blessings or ‘savings’ insured by these same actions.

Here are some to highlight when working through this with your adult forum group, social justice team, council, or broader community:

  1. Phone calls give us a daily sense of having done something. They are free and take very little time, yet their impact can be enormous. This can be a daily practices and can be especially powerful for those who are unable to protest with their bodies.
  2. Donations: this is stewardship and basic giving at its best. Creating space in our budget to provide funds to counteract injustice is precisely what we are meant to do with our giving. It is a spiritual practice. #2 can be supported by #3:
  3. Divesting is another essentially ‘free’ option. In fact, we might find we save money if we’re not paying an annual Prime membership, for instance. Others benefits: our money goes much more directly back into our community when we shop local and small. Online carriers like The Grove and other outlets like Costco have far superior practices with regard to the environment and justice – and can, again, save us money in the long run. They’ll certainly save us heartache.
  4. Prepare for ICE: despite rumors on January 24, please believe that ICE is not going away anytime soon. In fact, their tactics have become more nefarious. The more folx prepare before they arrive, the better off families, churches, neighborhoods, and communities will be – at defending themselves and sending ICE packing.
  5. The ‘lit drop’ couldn’t be easier – and a great youth or intergenerational congregational event. Lots of folx in your community still don’t know what power they have. And they have A LOT of power. Every congregation has a lot of power and even the smallest community has a lot of power if, as Waller urges, we do this NOW and do it TOGETHER.

She closes the post with a reminder that it’s important to take care of ourselves.

She offers two practices: ‘Shake It Off’, (which shared last week) post (!), that I guess we’re all calling, .

Many congregations are creating space for vigils, contemplative rest areas, craft gatherings, and other respite opportunities. This is so good. People are looking for a place to tend to their hearts and souls. Thank you, church, for being church in this beautiful way for our neighbors. Last week I shared a few resources to support these gatherings, including Songs for the Movement and Twin Cities Singing Resistance – Song List and the PTCA’s Preaching and Praying resource list; Church Anew is posting Resources for Right Now, as well.