Date: Tuesday, April 7th 
Scripture: Leviticus 19:33-34
When a foreigner resides among you in your land, do not mistreat them. The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt”
By Peggy Snee Mumper
Reflections on a Vigil at the Berks County Detention Center Mar 2018:
As we shivered together that blustery March day, I wondered how our presence here would make any difference to the vulnerable families locked behind doors and kept away from windows in a building several hundred feet beyond our little group as we beat drums, tambourines and our small hopes for a fairer world. We were not the first to gather there for a vigil nor would we be the last. To this day the captives continue in an endless stream of separation, detainment and trauma. There is no border wall for hundreds and hundreds of miles. These
visitors asked for asylum and were locked away. We carried signs in two languages that offered encouragement, acknowledged
wrongs done, promised the love of good neighbors who come in the form of legal advocates and those lesser trained who occupy the vigil site a few hours each month. Those inside may or may not have shared our faith but we have a common
humanity. We believed enough “an injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere” to be here. The longevity of the need, the
indifference of politicians, the greed of those profiting from
imprisoning others, and our own fears are walls and barriers that rise to surround them and us, too. As I pondered the value of our small demonstration, I was reminded that the opposite of faith is not doubt but certainty. We were there to pray and stand and sing and call out for change because we do not see how or when change will come. We were there to fill the void around that place with music and love and prayer and hope, because those things might get through walls and windows when we could not.
Prayer: Spirit of the Living God, nurture the hopes of the captives until those hopes become a whirl of music, a voice for justice, a prayer of reconciliation. Teach us all to rely on faith because certainty is rarely real. Soften the hearts of the oppressor with mercy. Set the captives free. Amen.
Criminal Justice Fact: 84% of detained individuals in removal proceedings do not receive legal representation.
Action: Consider attending a Vigil with the Shut Down Berks Interfaith Witness. Check out their FB page for updates here: https://www.facebook.com/shutdownberks/
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