Photo: Participants in the Pasadena Palm Sunday Peace Parade on March 20 carry signs calling for welcome for immigrants. Photo by Jamie Deurmeier.
Three Mennonite groups across the country marked Palm Sunday with public witnesses for peace. The peace parades and walks took place in Elkhart, Ind.; Pasadena, Calif.; and State College, Pa.; on March 20.
For Pasadena (Calif.) Mennonite Church, the Palm Sunday Peace Parade is a long-standing tradition. This marked the 14th year the congregation has hosted the event. Approximately 140 people joined the march, centered on the theme “Peace Without Borders: Welcoming the Refugee.” Participants carried palm fronds and signs with messages urging passersby to welcome immigrants.
In a March 22 press release, church member Bert Newton wrote: “Some participants wore life vests to
symbolize solidarity with refugees who risk their lives coming across the Mediterranean Sea on boats. Four of the marchers carried an inflatable kayak with a quote from Martin Luther King, ‘We may have all come on different ships, but we’re in the same boat now,’ on one side and ‘Welcome refugees’ on the other. One couple pulled their small children in a toy wagon dressed up as a boat. Another marcher carried a fake torch in her hand and wore a sandwich board that read, ‘Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,’ in Spanish and English.”
Robert Romero, UCLA professor of Asian and Chicano studies, immigration attorney and founder of Jesus for Revolutionaries Church, was the keynote speaker. Romero encouraged participants to get involved with the Sanctuary Movement, International Rescue Committee and other organizations advocating for the needs of immigrants and refugees.
The march was sponsored by many groups, including Pasadena Mennonite; Church for Others, a Mennonite congregation in Temple City, Calif.; The Urban Village of Pasadena; Reformation Church; Orange Grove Friends Meeting; Knox Presbyterian Church; Jesus for Revolutionaries Church; Crescenta Valley Methodist Church; All Saints Church; Progressive Christians Uniting; Montrose Peace Vigil, and Interfaith Communities United for Justice and Peace.
The Elkhart (Ind.) Advocates for Peace and Justice also focused on the theme of welcoming refugees, drawing on resources from the Pasadena march, for their sixth annual Peace Parade. According to Juanita Shenk, a member of Belmont Mennonite Church who helped organize the walk, 65 people participated in the walk that started at Hively Avenue Mennonite Church in Elkhart and ended at the Elkhart Civic Plaza. The program at the plaza included music provided by Parables, a musical ensemble from Goshen (Ind.) College, and a message from Lisa Koop, an immigration attorney with the National Immigrant Justice Center and Michiana Immigration Coalition.
In State College, Pa., over 100 marchers joined in the first-ever Palm Sunday Peace Walk, a march also inspired by Pasadena’s Peace Parade.
The Peace Walk was planned by several local faith leaders, including Mennonite pastors from University Mennonite Church and 3rd Way Collective, an organization focused on a witness for peace, justice and faith at Penn State University.
According to Ben Wideman, campus pastor
for 3rd Way Collective, “The event was launched with the hope of building a participatory community event bringing together the area’s diverse Christian community to notice and acknowledge the many organizations working for peace. More than 10 local congregations were represented in the participants, who pledged to continue this event in coming years.”
The 1.2-mile walk took participants past several community organizations, including Community Help
Centre, Women’s Resource Center, Housing Transitions, State College Police Department, Hearts for
Homeless, and Penn State University. At each location, walkers heard stories about how the organization was serving people in the community, and a faith leader from State College offered a prayer of blessing for their work.
The walk began with a program at University Baptist and Brethren Church and ended at Faith United Church of Christ with a meal and time for fellowship.
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