About 250 people gathered in Harrisonburg, Va., on March 15 for a demonstration organized by Mennonite Action Harrisonburg to support immigrants, refugees and the Palestinian people.
“None of us are free until all of us are free,” said Emily Hershberger, a member of Mennonite Action Harrisonburg, speaking to the crowd assembled on the lawn next to Turner Pavilion, as the Harrisonburg Farmers Market bustled with shoppers.
Describing herself as a descendant of Swiss Mennonite immigrants, she said, “Jesus himself was a refugee.”
Miguel Muñiz and Anaid Cordova, a married couple from Shalom Mennonite Church in Harrisonburg, led a prayer, accompanied with Native American rituals, to begin a prayer march.
The first stop was the Rockingham County Detention Center, where Luis Padilla, a student at Eastern Mennonite Seminary who came from Honduras in 1997, addressed the crowd.
“We, as members of Mennonite Action, are here to stand up for peace and justice for the oppressed,” he said. “God’s love knows no borders. God’s love embraces all immigrants.”
The march continued to City Hall, where Tim Godshall of Harrisonburg said, “We see and affirm that Harrisonburg city police refuse to cooperate with ICE [Immigration and Customs Enforcement]. We give thanks for the moments when those with power use it for the sake of the most vulnerable.”
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