BRAINERD — When the Rev. Leslie Moughty saw a national call from Minneapolis-based MARCH — Multi-Faith Anti-Racism Change and Healing — to join faith leaders from around the state and the country to gather together for a day of resistance in response to the killing of Renee Good, she headed to Minneapolis.
Moughty said in a recent conversation on the KAXE Morning Show that she felt the call to action was much like the call from the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to Selma, Alabama. When people she knew from Maine, California and Washington state were dropping everything to fly in for the Jan. 23 event, she felt driven to participate even more.
"Speaking truth to power and bearing witness is not meant to be easy," Moughty said.
Moughty said organizers with MARCH first expected around 200 clergy members. They had to pivot and organize and teach skills of non-cooperative resistance to accommodate 1,000 clergy members. The participants were given multiple options of places and means to protest on the day, and Moughty chose the airport
"What was amazing was to see people coming from labor unions, teachers unions, just everyday citizens. They thanked me for being there and said, 'We're so happy that the pastors are here,'" Moughty explained.
The clergy locked arms, chanting and singing while calling on the airport and Delta Airlines to stop cooperating with Immigration and Customs Enforcement by providing deportation flights.
Almost 100 clergy members were arrested as part of the peaceful resistance, in a fashion that Moughty described, respectfully, patiently and quickly by local police. She personally opted to comply with police orders and not be arrested, due to medical conditions.
"I think there's something powerful about faith leaders showing up that gets the attention of folks across different spectrums of belief and different perspectives of what's going on," Moughty said. "If the clergy are showing up and putting their safety on the line, it usually signals that something is really seriously wrong."
"If the clergy are showing up and putting their safety on the line, it usually signals that something is really seriously wrong."Leslie Moughty
This resistance by clergy was in tandem with 50,000 people, as reported by organizers, in downtown Minneapolis for a "Day of Truth and Freedom."
The following day, Alex Pretti was killed by federal agents on the streets of Minneapolis.
"Then this horrible event on Saturday could have derailed things, I think, and could have really just gutted people's motivations and felt like, 'Oh, it was for nothing,'" Moughty said.
"And instead, what I'm seeing is a doubling down and a more fierce commitment, that we're not going to let this go, that resistance has to continue and be sustained."
The role of clergy
Moughty describes herself as a progressive clergy member.
"It has been very frustrating that conservative, and what has become Christian nationalist, clergy are the ones whose voices seem to get the most attention," she said.
Moughty said she believes there are many called to the faith profession who are following in the ways of Christ and other prophets, who believe it is important to speak out against injustice.
"One of our goals is to be truth tellers," she said.
Moughty is choosing to lean into a role of clergy, prophet, preacher and teacher.
"The prophetic voice of naming evil and sin when you see it — unfortunately, that has been abused by people with really narrow minds and narrow understandings of their faith," she said. "We are looking to shine a light on this rise of authoritarianism and not let it go silently."
Moughty said welcoming immigrants is one of the tenets of her faith.
"Loving your neighbors no matter what," she said. "It doesn't say loving your citizen neighbor. It doesn't say loving your documented neighbor. Love your neighbor, period."
Back home in Brainerd on Jan. 26, four people were arrested by ICE agents with assistance from the Crow Wing County Sheriff's Office.
Moughty and about 40 people gathered for a vigil at El Potro restaurant the following day. They were met by signs thanking customers and announcing indefinite closure.
"One of the lessons I took away from my time in Minneapolis was the importance of responding, not reacting, and taking the time in the moment," she said.
Moughty has encouraged people to take a breath during these difficult times and to give space to a wiser mind.
"It's important to go outside, breathe the fresh air — even if the air hurts your face — and to be in connection with the community," she said.
Listen to our full conversation with Moughty above.
