‘This is a sacred space’: Charlottesville church condemns ICE raids in places of worship

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (WVIR) - At Sojourners United Church of Christ in Charlottesville, the constant message promoted is that this is a safe space. It’s repeated on doors and signs all over the church.

Like many faith based groups, when the church’s doors open on Sunday, Sojourners says everyone is welcome in.

“This is a sacred space. This is a place where they should be able to find comfort and meaning and connect with God and connect with community,” Reverend Karen Mann said.

Mann is the pastor at Sojourners. She feels that promise of protection is now being threatened, as raids continue to happen around the country by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in public spaces, such as churches.

“I never want this to be a place where people experience fear or trauma. And it breaks my heart to think that anybody might experience that, in my house of worship or any house of worship,” Reverend Karen Mann said.

That feeling of fear in a place worship hits close to home, according to Mann. Two years ago, the church was vandalized. Multiple signs outside, including a Black Lives Matter sign and rainbow banner, was graffitied and a window was smashed. Written on some of the graffitied was hate speech.

“I went through a period after that of feeling scared to be in this building alone because I knew that someone was targeting us out of a sense of hate, and that is a horrible feeling,” Mann said.

This event only heightened the churches desire to be a safe space for all people, according to Mann, but with threats of ICE coming into places of worship, there’s a renewed sense of fear.

Churches, along with schools and hospitals, were protected spaces from immigrant enforcement until January, when President Donald Trump got rid of policies limiting where arrests could happen.

That prompted a response from more than two dozen religious groups, including the regional body of the United Church of Christ. They signed a lawsuit in February against the Department of Homeland Security, accusing the federal government of violating the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) and the First Amendment.

The motion for a preliminary injunction was denied on April 11 by U.S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich, citing a lack of evidence. However, the religious groups are pushing forward, telling the court they plan to renew their motion for a preliminary injunction.

“People can see that there are churches and synagogues and other places of worship that are saying no,” Mann said.

So far, no reports have been made of any ICE arrests in a Charlottesville religious space.

However, in April, ICE officers did detain two men from an Albemarle County Courthouse.

Mann wants that to serve as a wake up call for elected officials in this area.

“I want our local governments to protect the residents of this community, whether they are citizens or not, and protect their right to preserve public spaces without fear or intimidation,” Mann said.

For now, Mann said, she and others in the church are doing what they can to keep Sojourners as a place welcoming to “everyone, everyone, everyone,” as Mann tells her congregants each Sunday morning.

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