Clergy arrested protesting ICE at MSP Airport share story: "It was holy."

Nearly two weeks after 99 clergy members were arrested and charged during a protest at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, three are sitting down to share their story.

Rev. Katherine Lewis of St. David's Episcopal Church in Minnetonka, Rev. Daniel Ruth, executive director of Lutheran Partners in Global Ministry, and Rev. Amanda Lunemann of Grace United Methodist Church in Burnsville sat down this week to remember the moment.

The three each say they felt a calling to be at the airport protest, despite the risk of arrest and the reality of the bone-chilling cold.

"My vocation has been to walk beside my neighbors. This has been a really intentional, concrete way to do that," Ruth said. "Part of being a faith leader is trying to get at what is true. The sort of underlying assumption of the whole surge is that immigrants are criminals and immigrants and dangerous. I don't think the facts bear that out."

Each of the three say their faith was the driving factor.

"To show up, to put your body on the line, is not something you should do out of bravado, it should be a call," Lunemann said. "This is not how we treat human beings. We don't do that. We're not going to do that. We're going to stand up for a different story."

"Fundamental to our faith is the beautiful diversity of creation," Lewis said. "It's foundational in the Judeo-Christian story from the get-go, diversity was just the part of the deal. That's beautiful, and God called it good in the story of creation."

The three say they knew there was potential risk, but felt comfort and confidence in their actions.

"There was a sense of deep rightness. Even though the crowd was large, there was chanting, there was singing, it was loud, there was something that was very still and very centered," Lewis said. "It was holy, no question, when we were out there. It was holy. There was a certain mystical quality to it."

Bigger Than Belief

You can listen to the full conversation with Lewis, Lunemann and Ruth on this week's episode of "Bigger Than Belief." 

"Bigger Than Belief" is a weekly podcast exploring faith, belief, and religion – all through the stories of believers. With an emphasis on understanding belief through personal experience, we aim to create a conversation about faith that is fair, honest, and easy to understand — regardless of what you do (or don't) believe. We'll also take a journalistic approach to concepts and questions that are difficult to understand, while helping to make sense of current events impacting believers in our communities. You can find part one of this week's episode wherever you get your podcasts.