Across the Church
Episcopalians among millions joining nonviolent ‘No Kings’ marches
By Shireen Korkzan
Members of St. John’s Episcopal Church in Chicago, Illinois, joined 75,000 other protesters in a nonviolent “No Kings” protest in downtown Chicago’s Grant Park on Oct. 18. Nearly 7 million people participated in more than 2,500 “No Kings” demonstrations in all 50 states, U.S. territories and other countries to oppose several of the Trump administration’s policies, including the slashing of federal education resources and environmental protections, and more. Photo: Courtesy of Mark McKelvey.
[Episcopal News Service] Episcopal clergy and laity were among the nearly 7 million people who participated Oct. 18 in nation- and worldwide nonviolent “No Kings” marches in opposition to authoritarian leaders and here in the U.S., Trump administration policies aimed at cutting services to the poor, public education, health care, environmental protection and targeting immigrants.
“As a church, we are called to witness redemptive love and work together to speak truth to power,” Chicago Archdeacon Michael “Mike” Choquette told Episcopal News Service. He and about 10 Chicago-area Episcopal and Lutheran deacons wore their clerical collars and marched east from Grace Episcopal Church in the South Loop to Grant Park to take part in downtown Chicago’s “No Kings” event, while many other Episcopalians marched in Chicago-area suburbs.
Choquette said the deacons called out multiple injustices, including those specifically targeting immigrants. Chicago has been at the center of the Trump administration’s anti-immigrant policies, with Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers conducting raids. Since September, ICE has arrested at least 1,000 people in Chicago and hundreds more in neighboring states.
The Cathedral Church of St. Paul in Boston, Massachusetts, held an interfaith prayer service Oct. 18 ahead of a nearby “No Kings” rally, where more than 100,000 protesters demonstrated in Boston Common. Photo: David M. Rider
More than 2,700 “No Kings” events took place in all 50 states, U.S. territories and worldwide, where they’re called “No Dictators” or “No Tyrants. Saturday’s events were the second in a series, with the first in June drawing an estimated 5 million people in opposition to a military-style parade commemorating the U.S. Army’s 250th Anniversary and Trump’s 79th birthday.
In Washington, D.C., more than 200,000 protestors, including members of St. Mark’s Episcopal Church on Capitol Hill, marched on the National Mall. Just outside the nation’s capital, the Falls Church, a historic Episcopal Church parish named for the city, held a gathering before at least 1,000 protesters formed a human chain.
The Interfaith Center of New York, led by the Rev. Chloe Breyer, an Episcopal priest, and the Interfaith Alliance organized an interfaith vigil in New York City’s Columbus Circle attended by New York Bishop Matt Heyd and the Very Rev. Winnie Varghese, dean of the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine, before they marched to Times Square.
During the vigil, Varghese prayed for those who didn’t participate in “No Kings” protests out of fear of being arrested, and for those who feel “defeated by the politics of today, by the real experience of their lives,” according to Religion News Service.
In San Diego, California, members of Resurrection Episcopal Church Ocean Beach joined members of nearby Westminster Presbyterian Church in protesting at the “No Kings” march at the city’s Waterfront Park. Their goal was “to speak out and stand up for justice, peace, and God’s all-inclusive love,” according to an Oct. 18 Facebook post.
Our diocesan convention was today, but we were able to take break to say No Kings!
Several priests in the Diocese of Pennsylvania also took time out of the diocesan convention in King of Prussia to participate in a nearby “No Kings” demonstration, according to an Oct. 18 Facebook post by the Rev. Stacey Carmody, a deacon at St. Andrews’s-in-the-Field Episcopal Church in Philadelphia and Redemption Episcopal Church in Southampton.
The Cathedral Church of St. Paul in Boston, Massachusetts, held an interfaith prayer service ahead of a nearby rally, where more than 100,000 protesters demonstrated on Boston Common. The service included prayer, music, readings of the Beatitudes and the Magnificat, meditation and more.
For Mark McKelvey, a parishioner at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Northwest Chicago, the influx of ICE raids over the last year have been his “biggest concern.”
“ICE is separating families, and people have gotten seriously hurt by their violent raids. It’s wrong,” he said. McKelvey and 25 other parishioners also took part in the protest in downtown Chicago.
“This is an essential time for The Episcopal Church to fulfill its longtime commitment to equity, inclusion and fairness,” he added.
-Shireen Korkzan is a reporter and assistant editor for Episcopal News Service. She can be reached at skorkzan@episcopalchurch.org.