On April 18, 2025 — Good Friday — RMM and the Episcopal Diocese of Rochester co-sponsored a gathering that drew more than 150 people from all faith backgrounds at the U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Rochester Border Patrol Station. We prayed for ourselves, our government officials and those who work for Homeland Security. We prayed that we will find the empathy, mercy and courage to recognize and affirm the humanity of all immigrants and their families.
There is a fear that our political system is forcing those who work for the government to deny their own humanity as they seek to carry out their jobs of protecting and serving. We gathered to reclaim and reconnect the humanity and empathy of all people, including immigration enforcement officers.
Unlike many important protests taking place around our region, this gathering took a different approach, one rooted in love and seeking another pathway through stories of humanity, the power of prayer, and silence. And, our gathering drew the attention of statewide broadcast media.
To see coverage of the Prayer Vigil from Spectrum News 1, which aired statewide on Easter Sunday and includes an interview with Western New York Administrative Assistant Hormis Bedolla, visit:
CBS affiliate WROC-News 8 ran the following segment:
NBC affiliate WHEC-News 10’s coverage included words by JOY member William Martinez:
And ABC affiliate 13-WHAM aired a segment as well:
We are incredibly grateful to everyone who came out for the vigil and to all of the wonderful people who support our work.
