Church’s Latino Ministries hosts Spanish-language vigil in support of communities, immigrants

[Episcopal News Service] Episcopalians gathered virtually April 21 for an evening prayer vigil hosted by The Episcopal Church’s Office of Latino Ministries to support and stand in solidarity with Latino communities and immigrants. 

Western Massachusetts Bishop-elect Miguelina Howell co-led the Spanish-language service with other Latino church leaders and Presiding Bishop Sean Rowe. In her sermon, Howell described the gathering as an “act of spiritual resistance.”

“Let’s remember that our [Latino] identity is not defined by documents, politics or public opinions. Our identity is rooted in a God who calls us with our names. He recognizes us as dignified beings,” Howell told the 187 participants.

Click here to watch the vigil.

Plans for a Spanish-language vigil began after Karla Sikaffy duPlantier, The Episcopal Church’s interim missioner for Latino Ministries, participated in the church’s January virtual prayer vigil to mourn, lament and remember people who have died by immigration enforcement actions in and out of detention. Most detained immigrants are from Latin America, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s latest data.

“This vigil was a reminder that ICE raids continue and that the injustices against Latinos and migrants continue,” duPlantier, who moderated the vigil, told Episcopal News Service. “It was a moment for us to stand in solidarity with those individuals who are being affected by the ICE raids – to pray with them and hold them in our space.”

As of April 9, 60,311 migrants and asylum-seekers are in ICE custody, according to the latest ICE and U.S. Customs and Border Patrol data compiled by NBC News.

Howell described Latinos as “part of a vulnerable community.”

“Even though the world is advancing and the news headlines change daily … human rights are being violated daily, often away from the cameras. Suffering hasn’t changed; the only change that’s happened is how much we’re talking about that suffering,” Howell said in her sermon. “To, specifically, The Episcopal Church: we cannot afford the luxury of forgetting.”

Howell praised Minnesota Bishop Craig Loya’s “prophetic leadership” in January during ICE’s often-violent raids in the Twin Cities area, which led to the deaths of two protesters. Loya, who is of Mexican descent, was one of 13 church leaders who read a weekly prayer from The Episcopal Church’s Office of Government Relations. His reading was a prayer “for children in detention centers.”

Other bishops who read prayers included Puerto Rico Bishop Rafael Luis Morales Maldonado and Honduras Bishop Lloyd Allen, who serves as president of Province IX, which includes dioceses in Latin America and the Caribbean. Los Angeles Bishop-elect Antonio Gallardo read the prayer “for those in immigration detention.”

Clergy and lay leaders, several of whom lead Latino and immigration ministries in their dioceses and parishes, read the remaining nine prayers, which were dedicated to people in all stages of their immigration journey.

In his reflection, Rowe, like Howell, stressed the importance of gathering for prayer, like Jesus “keeping watch” and Christians throughout history, to “bear witness in the hardest and most uncertain times.”

“We come together to pray because to pray is to stay awake. When we pray, we summon the courage to resist the powers and principalities that would lull us to sleep, that would keep us from seeing what is happening around us,” Rowe said in English. “To stay awake in these perilous times means to remember that we are a part of the body of Christ and that we are first and foremost citizens of the kingdom of God.”

During the vigil, participants were invited to offer prayers and reflections through Zoom’s chat function:

“[I pray] for the hearts of those who live in the United States, that we may learn to see one another as neighbors and children of God,” one person wrote in Spanish.

“[I pray] for all migrants who live in fear and suffering due to uncertainty. May peace accompany them, and may they receive Jesus’ embrace,” another person wrote in Spanish.

“We pray for communities and civic leaders, that they may receive the necessary assistance and guidance to understand how to support and help all individuals and families affected by ICE,” one person wrote in English.

Other people prayed for migrant families who have been separated to reunite someday, and for the health and safety of asylum-seekers who are fleeing their homelands due to war, violence or persecution.

“We ask you, God, in prayer for the consolation and healing of our immigrant brothers and sisters – healing of their hearts and minds. They are all looking for a better life,” the Rev. David Ulloa Chavez, The Episcopal Church’s partnership officer for Latin America and the Caribbean, said during the closing prayer. “We ask you, God … that you walk with them. Keep them safe.”

-Shireen Korkzan is a reporter and assistant editor for Episcopal News Service. She can be reached at skorkzan@episcopalchurch.org.