A Letter to Our Fellow Americans: a Joint Statement from 150+ Episcopal Bishops
Saturday, January 31, 2026
A Letter to Our Fellow Americans:
a Joint Statement from 150+ Episcopal Bishops
"What happened a week ago in Minnesota, and is happening in communities across the country, runs counter to God’s vision of justice and peace. This crisis is about more than one city or state—it’s about who we are as a nation."
"Safety built on fear is an illusion. True safety comes when we replace fear with compassion, violence with justice, and unchecked power with accountability. That’s the vision our faith calls us to live out—and the promise our country is meant to uphold."
We encourage you to watch the below video and read the full joint statement from 150+ Episcopal bishops released earlier this morning. Signatories include our Iowa bishops: Bishop Betsey Monnot, Bishop Alan Scarfe (retired), and Bishop C. Christopher Epting (retired).
Actions & Resources
Below are some suggestions for actions and ways you might be called to be involved. This list is not comprehensive, but hopefully these resources and actions will be helpful in your discernment.
"I call upon every member of the Episcopal Diocese of Iowa to pray and to discern how God is calling you to act for God’s Kingdom at this time. Whether it is by risking your physical well-being in solidarity with our immigrant neighbors or by laying down your life in other ways such as prayer and supporting others, your faith impels you to act. Refusing to act in the face of evil supports those powers that we have sworn to resist. The situation we face has moved far beyond partisan politics. Now is the time for all Christians to put our faith into action, to love God and to love our neighbors as ourselves, and to dedicate ourselves to building up God’s Kingdom."
-Bishop Monnot
from her letter to the diocese "Following Jesus, Resisting Empire,"
January 22, 2026
Call:
Call Your Senators
Using the website 5calls.org, you can enter your zip code, choose your topic (i.e. Defund ICE), and it will give you a sample script and your legislator's phone numbers.
Donate:
Give to Casa Maria (MN)
A ministry of the Diocese of Minnesota, Casa Maria is providing much-needed food, supplies, and community, and is helping families locate and access members who have been taken by ICE.
Stand with Minnesota
This directory of places to donate to all comes from activists on the ground, plugged into the situation. Everything is vetted, with the exception of individual GoFundMes.
Emergency Migration Ministry of The Episcopal Church
Your gift will allow us to rush financial support to dioceses that are loving and caring for immigrants in these difficult times.
Get Involved Locally:
Iowa Migrant Movement for Justice (IMMJ)
IMMJ is a statewide membership-based legal service and advocacy organization driven and led by immigrant and refugee voices and united with allies. They're an affiliate of the Justice for Our Neighbors network and a GILEAD Grant partner organization. They have a ton of helpful resources, legislative updates, community bulletins, and more.
Prepare Your Congregation/Ministry
Each congregation or diocesan ministry needs to designate a single person who has the authority to make decisions about granting access to law enforcement personnel (such as ICE) to that congregation or diocesan ministry’s building(s). Everyone who uses the building needs to know how to contact that authorized person in the event of an immigration enforcement action.
This is from Bishop Monnot's February 2025 letter "Loving Our Immigrant Neighbors."
Protesting Faithfully Toolkit from The Episcopal Church
As Episcopalians, our faith calls us to stand in solidarity with vulnerable people, to proclaim justice and peace, and to love our neighbors. This “Protesting Faithfully” toolkit—with content updated and adapted from “The Episcopal Street Action Handbook”—offers spiritual grounding and practical resources for faithful presence at protests and public demonstrations.