This report back comes from comrades in Minneapolis on an action that included a number of churches and folks from the Center for Prophetic Imagination, the Mennonite Worker, and the Minneapolis Catholic Worker (Rye House), as well as other Christian activists:

On March 29th, an ecumenical group of Christian activists held a Holy Thursday liturgy on Hennepin Ave and W 15th St in Loring Park. The group chose Holy Week as a time to call the larger Christian community to take a stronger stand against all forms of gun violence, including violence perpetrated by the police. They gathered near Loring Park due to its proximity to several prominent Christian churches–including St. Mark’s Episcopal Cathedral and Hennepin Avenue United Methodist Church.

“In our prayers, we remembered that children are killed by school shootings–but even more are killed by police. As people of faith, we want to acknowledge that arming more police, as Jacob Frey and the police chief are pushing for in Minneapolis, will only expose the most vulnerable to more violence.”

Holy Week is a time when Christians remember the death of Christ. Jesus was killed by state-sponsored violence. We want Christians to connect the dots. If we care about the state-sanctioned murder of an innocent man 2000 years ago, then we should care about Philando Castile and Jamar Clark and Alton Sterling and many others who are effectively crucified today, As the nation begins to cry out for better gun laws, we can’t forget that one of the biggest sources of gun violence is the police. We need to hold the police accountable. Any conversation about gun reform that doesn’t include police reform is unconscionable.

For these activists, gun violence isn’t merely a political problem, it is also a spiritual problem. They believe that the church needs to take a stronger role in condemning injustice wherever it is found–especially when that injustice is legal.

“Tenebrae is a beautiful tradition…a way of remembering the way Jesus’ life was extinguished. We will draw upon this sacred tradition as we remember those who have been murdered by police…often with little to no consequences,” said Mark Van Steenwyk, a local Mennonite pastor.

The activists also placed small wooden crosses, marked with the names of those recently killed by police violence, around the worship site.