An eye-catching goalpost sign marks a food collection point just outside the sanctuary of St. John’s Lutheran Church, Lakeville. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo February 2026)
AS I WRITE, the Super Bowl is playing out on the television screen in the next room. I could care less.
But I do care about the Soup Per Bowl Sunday that played out this morning in a south metro church. I was there attending a pancake breakfast fundraiser for kids going to summer camp. That includes my young granddaughter.
Donations collected at St. John’s for a food shelf. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo February 2026)
After a hearty breakfast of pancakes with blueberry sauce, cheesy hash browns and sausages, I headed to the narthex on my way to the 10:30 a.m. worship service at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Lakeville. Just outside the sanctuary, I spotted a large collection of filled grocery bags. Turns out this was this faith community’s version of the Super Bowl.
Looking down into bags filled with food and personal care products. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo February 2026)
At St. John’s, it was a Soup Per Bowl of Kindness, according to associate pastor Nathan Lyke. And that kindness came in grocery bags filled with cans of soup, spaghetti, peanut butter, cereal, granola bars, flour, hot chocolate mix, toothpaste, personal hygiene products and much more. A generous outpouring of donations for a designated food shelf.
All across Minnesota, faith communities, individuals and nonprofits are stepping up to feed others, as noted in the day’s Old Testament reading from Isaiah 58, specifically verse seven, “to share your bread with the hungry.”
Gratitude expressed for generosity. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo February 2026)
I personally know of people who are donating money and food, collecting monetary donations from family and friends, buying groceries and/or delivering food to food shelves for bagging and distribution to people sheltering in their homes because of ICE. I know of people proxy-shopping at local food shelves and then taking groceries to people sheltering in their homes because of ICE. I know of local churches collecting food and delivering to people sheltering in their homes because of ICE.
This story is repeating through community after community in my state. I’ve never been more proud to be a Minnesotan, to live in a place where we take care of each other, where Super Bowl Sunday means much more than a football game.
The service program cover featured an historic photo of Native Americans incarcerated at Ft. Snelling following the U.S.-Dakota War of 1862 prior to their deportation from Minnesota. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo February 2026)
WE GATHERED. On a day when I learned that a friend, an American citizen, was recently racially-profiled and stopped by ICE. On a day when I learned that ICE vehicles have been parked in my neighborhood. On a day when several Minnesota children were released from federal detainment in Texas. On a day when the border czar announced the draw-down of 700 federal agents (out of 3,000) in Minnesota. On this early February day, 75 of us gathered for an “Evening Prayer Service for Our Nation” at the Cathedral of Our Merciful Saviour in Faribault, Bishop Henry Whipple’s church.
The prayer service was open to anyone who wanted to attend in a church I’ve always considered especially welcoming and focused on serving community. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo February 2026)
I needed this service of prayer, scripture, Psalms, reflection and hymns to quiet my troubled spirit. But I needed, too, to hold space, to sit and stand and sing and pray in community, in support of anyone—especially our immigrant and refugee neighbors—illegally stopped, taken and/or detained by ICE.
A couple leans on one another during the service. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo February 2026)
This was not a protest service. Rather, this was a reflective, prayerful, unifying, worshipful coming together of people in my community who care deeply about their neighbors and about this nation.
People arrive for the 7 pm service inside the Cathedral of Our Merciful Saviour, Faribault. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo February 2026)
The Rev. James Zotalis welcomed attendees to the event held inside the massive Episcopal cathedral completed in 1869 under the leadership of Bishop Whipple. “Welcome to the Whipple building,” Zotalis said in opening his short homily. “This is the real Whipple building.”
Gathered inside the cathedral for the prayer service. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo February 2026)
He contrasted the beautiful church to the stark seven-story Whipple Federal Building 50 miles to the north that bears the good bishop’s name and which is now a temporary detention center for those detained by ICE in Minnesota. Conditions inside have been described as “inhumane” by officials who have visited the facility.
A portrait of Bishop Henry Whipple hanging inside the cathedral. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo February 2026)
The cathedral, Zotalis said, is a place of love and peace, its ministry modeled after that of Bishop Whipple and his first wife, Cornelia. Arriving here from Chicago in 1859, the couple had already served in dangerous areas of that city, connecting with people in tangible, helpful ways, much like we see Minnesotans stepping up and helping others today.
The Rev. Henry Doyle, left, a church member, and the Rev. James Zotalis, right, start the service with a processional. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo February 2026)
With a repeated directive to “always say no to evil,” Zotalis said Minnesotans have done just that since the invasion of our state by masked federal agents two months ago. He listed specifics: bringing food to people afraid to leave their homes, providing rides, offering free legal aid and peacefully protesting.
Among the many hymns we sang was #482, “Lord of all hopefulness.” (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo February 2026)
“Love your neighbor as yourself” was emphasized often in love-themed Scripture readings (Luke 10:27, I Corinthians 13:13, I John 4:11) during the Wednesday evening service. Like the good people of Minnesota today, Bishop Whipple showed that love long ago in his ministry to the Dakota people locally, across the state and during their imprisonment after the U.S.-Dakota War of 1862 at Fort Snelling, where the Whipple Federal Building is located. Whipple faced death threats for those who opposed his compassionate work with Native Americans.
Death. In a time of remembrance during Wednesday’s service, attendees could speak the names of “deceased and alive during this time of tragedy and strife.” I spoke first: “Renee Good.” Then another voice: “Alex Pretti.” And then an attendee read the names of 32 individuals who died in ICE detention in 2025. Thirty-two.
A woman holds a prayer book used often during the service. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted photo February 2026)
Many times my emotions verged on tears. As we asked, “Lord, keep this nation under your care.” As we sang “America the Beautiful.” As we prayed a Collect for Peace. As I thought of Jesus, who also lived in troubled times and who served with love and compassion.
Theme words of love, compassion, mercy and neighbor threaded throughout the service led by the reverends Zotalis and Henry Doyle. I could feel those words. And I could feel, too, the collective sense that we all needed this evening of prayer, scripture, Psalms, reflection and hymns to quiet our troubled spirits.
(Promo courtesy of the Cathedral of Our Merciful Saviour)
FIFTY MILES FROM THE NON-DESCRIPT Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building currently housing ICE detainees in Minneapolis, a beautiful, aged cathedral rises high in the heart of Faribault. Wednesday evening, February 4, that magnificent, massive cathedral—Bishop Whipple’s church—will center a community gathering.
The historic Cathedral of Our Merciful Saviour, 515 Second Avenue Northwest, across from Central Park in Faribault. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo November 2025)
Beginning at 7 p.m. the historic Cathedral of Our Merciful Saviour will open its doors for “Evening Prayer for Our Nation” in support of Faribault’s refugees and immigrants. The Cathedral’s pastor, the Rev. James Zotalis, and the Rev. Henry Doyle will lead the event, which includes prayers, readings, music and teachings from Bishop Whipple.
Organizers also promise networking opportunities and information about ways to help others.
A mural on the back side of the Central Park bandshell in Faribault features a portrait and information about Bishop Henry Whipple. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo)
Bishop Whipple, who shepherded this congregation while serving as the first Episcopal bishop of Minnesota beginning in 1859, would surely be pleased with the upcoming gathering just as he would surely be displeased with the imprisonment of detainees at the federal building bearing his name. He would likely be standing alongside protesters protesting immigration enforcement and asking to visit detainees inside.
This clergyman focused his ministry on “justice and mercy for all.” And that is evidenced in his ministry to the Dakota both in Faribault and parts west in Minnesota and then at Fort Snelling. Whipple went to the fort and ministered to the Dakota held captive there following the U.S.-Dakota War of 1862.
When 303 Dakota were sentenced to hanging after the war, Whipple traveled to Washington DC to ask President Abraham Lincoln to spare their lives. Lincoln pardoned most, but 38 were still hung in the nation’s largest mass execution.
Encouraging words posted near a garden in the heart of downtown Faribault many years ago. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo)
If Bishop Whipple was alive today, I expect he would be doing everything in his power to help anyone threatened and/or taken by ICE and CBC. But because he is not here, it is up to us to help. I know many people in my community are helping quietly behind the scenes. Walking kids to bus stops. Giving co-workers rides. Delivering groceries. Donating money and food. Volunteering.
Wednesday evening’s “Evening Prayer for Our Nation” is needed, too. It’s needed to bring people together in community, to unite, to uplift, to pray, to share, to recharge, to publicly support our neighbors, to find tangible ways to help. Bishop Whipple would feel grateful. He cared. And so should we.
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FYI: Whether you live near or far, Faribault nonprofits are in need of donations to help families sheltering in place during ICE operations in Minnesota. This is not just a Twin Cities metro enforcement. Many communities in greater Minnesota, including mine, are suffering.
A hope medallion gifted to me by my friend Beth Ann many years ago. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo)
IN THE MIDST of the invasion of Minnesota, not just Minneapolis, by armed masked badge-less federal agents who are violently detaining and taking people, even fatally shooting them, I am trying to find hope.
And that comes to me in big and small ways. Never underestimate the power of your voice, the power of your compassionate words and actions no matter who you are, where you live.
In the speeches of legislators in Washington, DC, on Wednesday, I heard praise for the strength of Minnesotans. I heard concern for our country and our democracy. And I listened to Minnesota Senators Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith boldly, loudly call for this federal invasion to stop. That’s me paraphrasing their messages. To hear them say they’ve never felt more proud of Minnesotans brought me to tears.
A hope stone that sits on my desk. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo)
THE WORDS OF A POET & A MUSICIAN
Then there are the words printed on a card that arrived in my mailbox from a blog reader, who has countless times sent me uplifting notes, cards and more simply because she is a kind, compassionate, caring person. On the front of that card were these lines from poet Emily Dickinson: Hope is the thing with feathers/that perches in the soul/and sings the tune without the words/and never stops at all. Roxy has followed my blog long enough to know that “hope” is one of my favorite words.
And then there are the words penned and sung by Bruce Springsteen in “Streets of Minneapolis.” Springsteen doesn’t hold back in his just-released anti-ICE protest song. …Against smoke and rubber bullets/By the dawn’s early light/Citizens stood for justice/Their voices ringing through the night… He specifically references the whistles and phones the people of Minneapolis (and throughout Minnesota) have used to alert people to ICE’s presence and to document their actions. He unleashes strong words against ICE and federal government leaders and officials. Several people sent me links to that song because they knew I would appreciate the lyrics, the ways in which creatives can powerfully protest.
Words from Mr. Rogers in a front yard in the small town of Nerstrand, Minnesota. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo)
SO MANY HELPERS
Another blogger friend has uplifted me many times in recent weeks by sharing about protests, vigils and more in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where she lives. It helps to know that Beth and others across the country and world are lifting up Minnesotans, protesting wherever they live, fighting for what is moral and right.
Ruth, a blogger friend from Pittsburgh, is knitting red “Melt the ICE” hats using a design from the 1940s. Norwegians knit and wore the pointed, tasseled hats to visually protest against Nazi occupation of their country. Proceeds from pattern sales will go to immigrant agencies to help those impacted by the actions of ICE. Ruth and other knitters are using their talents to protest, to help.
Mr. Rogers would be proud of all the helpers.
Closer to home, while walking Wednesday morning inside a soccer dome, I shared with several people about protesting and ways to help immigrant families locally. Others in my circle have donated money, via my direction, to a local food shelf and also to one in the south metro. Volunteers are delivering food to people afraid to leave their homes because of ICE. Minnesotans all across the state are stepping up to help their neighbors.
All of this gives me hope. Hope perches. Hope sings. Hope never stops.
My cousin Jill Bode left this message at the memorial for Alex Pretti in south Minneapolis. (Photo credit: Jill Bode)
I HAVE EXTENDED FAMILY and friends living in south Minneapolis where ICE agents shot and killed two American citizens on the streets recently. First Renee Good and now Alex Pretti, both 37 years old.
My family has kept me updated on their participation in protests, their ICE sightings, their visits to memorials. I appreciate their first-person observations. And their activism.
A touching message from Felix, a former patient of Alex Pretti, an ICU nurse. (Photo credit: Jill Bode)
All images in this blog post were taken by my cousin Jill Bode at the memorial for Alex Pretti, an ICU nurse at the Minneapolis VA Medical Center. Veterans from all over Minnesota seek care at the VA. That includes my next door neighbor and my dad many years ago.
A view of the street by the Alex Pretti memorial where people continue to gather. (Photo credit: Jill Bode)
As hard as this whole situation is on me because I’m a Minnesotan and ICE is also in my community, it’s certainly much harder on my loved ones living in the epicenter of this massive, out-of-control enforcement effort by agents of the federal government. Jill and her husband, Mark, live about a mile from the place where Alex was shot and killed on Saturday morning. The granddaughter of a dear friend of mine was a neighbor to Alex and she’s taking it hard. We all are. My heart goes out to family and friends of Alex and Renee.
President Donald Trump promised “a day of reckoning and retribution” in Minnesota. I’m sharing that quote to remind everyone of his politically-motivated, threatening words, not to give him more voice.
Among the messages left at the memorial is one from a Louisiana veteran, top center. The pink building in the background is Glam Doll Donuts, directly across the street from where Alex was killed. (Photo credit: Jill Bode)
He underestimated Minnesotans—how tough and strong and determined we are, how we care for one another and also know right from wrong. We have a moral compass.
Take time to look closely at the messages left at the memorial. (Photo credit: Jill Bode)
To everyone across the country and world who has Minnesota’s back, who is supporting us via words and actions, thank you. I am grateful.
I join others for a candlelight vigil in downtown Faribault on Saturday evening. (Photo by and courtesy of Chloe Kucera, Faribault Daily News)
WE MARCHED IN SOLIDARITY, in community, in collective grief Saturday evening through downtown Faribault. No signs. Only candles, flames flickering, lights shining in subzero temps as vapor billowed from our faces.
An estimated 100 of us walked eight blocks in reverent silence, only the sound of boots crunching on snow and the occasional passing vehicle breaking the quiet.
Bundled up against the frigid cold, we left our warm homes to gather and honor 37-year-old Alex Pretti, an ICU nurse shot to death Saturday morning by ICE agents on the streets of south Minneapolis, less than an hour’s drive north on Interstate 35. It is the second fatal shooting of a Minneapolis resident, a Minnesotan and an American citizen by federal agents in recent weeks.
Faribault resident Martha Brown hastily organized the candlelight vigil via social media, calling for people to walk in silence on our city streets “to mourn together and peacefully pray for the (federal) occupation to end.” I knew I needed to be there, to join Martha and others who felt overwhelmed, yet determined to raise their voices via silence.
FOR OURSELVES & OUR NEIGHBORS
We did this not only for ourselves individually and collectively, but also for the Hispanics, Latinos and Somalis who call Faribault home and who have been targeted by ICE. Our neighbors are living in fear, sheltering in their homes as ICE continues to threaten, take and traumatize right here in my community and across the state.
As the march began in the parking lot outside Buckham Memorial Library, a Hispanic family waited along the curb. I motioned for them to join us and they did as the father filmed the walk for those whom he said could not be there. Those who cannot leave their homes for fear of ICE.
His daughter, about 8 years old, walked ahead of me, her bare hands clutching a slender battery-lit candle someone had given her. I felt so proud of this little girl while simultaneously thinking, she should not have to be here doing this. What a strong, brave family.
REFLECTING IN SILENCE
Walking in silence gave me time to reflect, process my emotions and observe. I passed Mexican and Somali-owned shops, restaurants and a bakery, all told about a dozen in our core downtown business district. I considered how they contribute to our economy, our tax base, our diversity, filling buildings that may otherwise stand vacant.
But I passed, too, a large GUNS sign on the pawnshop, the significance of that singular word not lost on me in the context of the day’s shooting.
Four blocks into the march, I felt strengthened by simply being among caring people of all ages united in purpose and grief. That young girl and her family. A woman in a wheelchair who was wheeled across snowy curb cuts. All of us there, connected by this moment in time in Minnesota.
GRATITUDE FOR COMMUNITY SUPPORT
When the half hour vigil walk ended back in the library parking lot, we stood in a moment of silence, then prayer before the Hispanic man stepped up and thanked us for coming, explaining how much it meant to him to see and feel our support.
Back home I got a text from family in south Minneapolis to “Shine a Light for Minnesota” by placing a lit candle outside at 7 pm. And so Randy set the tea light candles we had just carried through downtown Faribault on our front steps, flames flickering for our communities, for Alex, with the flaming message of ICE OUT NOW.
BREAKING: Federal agents shot and killed a man in south Minneapolis this morning, according to Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara. I watched a video of the shooting on the Minneapolis Star Tribune live updates. This is an unfolding story. This marks the third shooting (the second fatal) in Minneapolis by federal agents since Metro Surge began.
This shows a portion of the people protesting in downtown Minneapolis on Friday afternoon. (Photo provided by a family member)
Here’s the post I was working on when I learned about today’s shooting:
MINNESOTANS REMAIN STRONG and undeterred in their opposition to ongoing ICE enforcement in our state. Nowhere was that strength of resistance more publicly visible than Friday afternoon in downtown Minneapolis.
A close-up of the protesters in Minneapolis on Friday afternoon.(Photo by and courtesy of Jill Bode)
Thousands (some estimates are 50,000) bundled up and marched in a double digit subzero wind chill to protest ICE actions, gathering afterwards for a rally inside Target Center. Those protesters included my cousins who live in south Minneapolis. They want ICE out of their neighborhoods, their city, our state. So do I.
I should note that not every Minnesotan opposes ICE’s massive enforcement efforts here. I don’t understand how anyone can be OK with the often aggressive, violent and unconstitutional ways in which these federal agents are operating in Minnesota. This has gone well beyond their originally-stated goal of gathering and deporting “the worst of the worst,” violent criminals who are here illegally.
I should also note that ICE’s reach stretches well beyond the Twin Cities metro. Agents are detaining people in my community of Faribault. Likewise in Rochester (home to the world-renowned Mayo Clinic), Mankato, St. Cloud, Northfield, even small towns like St. James and many more places in between.
Momentum against ICE is growing as the impact on people is being felt in multiple ways. Healthcare workers say patients are afraid to seek care and that their physical and mental health are being affected. Plus, doctors and nurses are under tremendous stress, especially when ICE agents enter clinics and hospitals.
ICE has stopped off-duty law enforcement officers of color in instances of reported racial profiling.
Students are walking out of classes, concerned about their classmates, some of whom have been taken by ICE. Others are not coming to school. Schools are going to virtual learning.
Labor unions have publicly stood up against ICE.
At the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, local clergy and clergy from across the country gathered outside terminal one on Friday to protest deportation flights in and out of the airport and ICE’s presence in Minnesota.
Educators are speaking out about the fear they are seeing in their students, about the students who are not coming to school, about the students who have been taken by ICE.
And then there’s the group of “Women with Walkers” who gathered in the chapel of a senior living community in St. Paul Friday afternoon to pray and protest in their own quiet way.
I can’t write any more. Not in this moment. I am too angry.
THIS IS A TOMATO SOUP and grilled cheese kind of day in Minnesota. Or maybe a Chicken Wild Rice Hotdish kind of day, depending on your preference. With that theme, I’ll start today’s post with the weather and move on from there to a potluck of topics.
We are currently in a statewide extreme weather warning with air temps in southern Minnesota well below zero. Factor in the wind and the air temp feels like minus 30 degrees below zero, give or take some degrees depending on location. Overnight, the wind chill plunged into the -40 to nearly -60 degrees in parts of Minnesota. Exposed skin can freeze in five minutes. It’s that kind of brutal, icy cold.
Schools across the state are closed with many transitioning to online learning. Businesses, too, are shuttered, especially in the Twin Cities metro, but not necessarily due to the deep freeze temps.
A sign I crafted for a recent protest in Faribault. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo)
DAY OF TRUTH & FREEDOM
Today marks a day of economic blackout and protest in Minnesota under the banner of “ICE Out of Minnesota: Day of Truth and Freedom.” Many metro businesses are closed in support of that protest, businesses that have already been negatively impacted by ICE presence in this state. Employees are afraid to come to work. Customers likewise. I’m no numbers person, but I wonder how long small businesses can survive.
ICE Out of Minnesota is a protest against federal government immigration enforcement here. The protest is a show of solidarity with the unified message of Get ICE out of Minnesota.
We are a hardy bunch. Vice President J.D. Vance, who was in Minnesota yesterday, unknowingly alluded to that when he stated, “We’re seeing only this level of chaos in Minneapolis.” Now I disagree with his word choice of “chaos.” I would use “resistance” instead. But his statement tells me that peaceful protesters, legal observers and anyone (including elected officials) who challenges the federal government spin and ICE actions are getting under his skin and that of other feds. I wonder if Vance considered for a moment that the presence of 3,000 federal agents in Minnesota is unnecessary, horrible, traumatizing, morally wrong and is raising our ire. Nah, probably not.
I’ve participated in multiple protests in Minnesota. I am not a far left agitator, a paid protester or rioter nor are any of the people with whom I’ve protested. We are concerned Americans raising our voices. We are standing up for our neighbors, calling out the federal government and showing that we care about freedom. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo October 2025)
LAUGHABLE STATEMENTS
While here, the vice president called for local and state government officials to “meet these guys (federal immigration agents) half way” per the directive of the president. That’s laughable since Vance didn’t even meet with Governor Tim Walz or Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey while in Minnesota. You’d think he would have and could at least correctly pronounce Frey’s name. Nah, why bother?
During his talk, Vance showed anything but a cooperative spirit. Rather, he blamed—the media for lying, “far left agitators” and “rioters” for causing chaos, elected Minnesota officials and law enforcement for not cooperating, and even the family of 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos for his detainment. And on and on.
Vance repeatedly stated that ICE action is being taken out of context. Really? He also stated, in answer to a reporter’s question, that the federal government is not trying to send a political message via 3,000 agents sent to Minnesota, but rather trying to enforce the law. Really?
(From the Minnesota Prairie Roots files)
ONWARD WITH GRATITUDE
So onward we go here in Minnesota. I want to take a moment to thank everyone who is staying aware of what is occurring in my beloved state. This could be your city or state next, depending on political leaning. Thank you for standing in solidarity with Minnesotans. Thank you for protesting, for calling your elected officials, for helping your neighbors, for recognizing the threats to our freedom, for showing your humanity in loving words and actions. Your support matters to us in Minnesota. We are grateful.
FYI: I direct you to Minnesota Public Radio as a trusted source for ICE-related and other stories in our state.
From Sahan Journal, coverage of ICE apprehension of a 5-year-old in a northern suburb of Minneapolis. The photo was shared with the media by the Columbia Heights Public School.
ON A DAY when the weather in Minnesota will drop to brutally, dangerously cold, it is not the predicted minus 35-degree wind chill that is chilling my heart. Rather, it is the action of ICE agents in my state.
On Tuesday, agents reportedly took a 5-year-old and his father into custody in the family’s driveway as they were returning home from preschool. They were then flown to Texas, likely detained in a family detention center, according to the family’s attorney.
This is unfathomable to me, that agents of the federal government, who claim to be in Minnesota to find and detain violent criminals—“the worst of the worst”—are now taking our children. Little Liam Conejo Ramos is not the first. And I expect he will not be the last child to be apprehended and held by ICE if this is allowed to continue.
In a press conference on Wednesday, the superintendent of the Columbia Heights Public School shared that ICE has taken three other students in their district. That includes two 17-year-olds and a 10-year-old. They, too, are gone, just like sweet little Liam in the blue bunny ear stocking cap.
This ought to outrage everyone regardless of political affiliation. For kids to be traumatized, taken, imprisoned is wrong on so many levels. It’s bad enough when adults are experiencing this.
Five-year-old Liam could be your child, your grandchild, your neighbor’s child, your child’s classmate, your… Don’t think this could not happen in your state, your community. This is beyond anything that should happen in the United States of America.
A mural on the bandshell at Faribault’s Central Park honors Bishop Henry Whipple. (Minnesota Prairie Roots copyrighted file photo)
I EXPECT BISHOP HENRY WHIPPLE may be turning over in his grave under the altar inside the Cathedral of Our Merciful Saviour in Faribault. He would be appalled by what’s happening in this community with ICE enforcement. And he would also likely be standing side-by-side with protesters outside the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building at Fort Snelling protesting ICE’s presence in Minnesota. The federal agents are based inside the building named after him.
Whipple was all about compassion and embracing others, especially as a friend to the Dakota in Minnesota following his arrival here in 1860 and throughout his ministry. He would not be fine with ICE violently, or non-violently, taking people from their vehicles, their homes, clinics, outside schools and churches, inside businesses…and illegally detaining them without due process. That includes those here legally and American citizens imprisoned inside the building bearing Whipple’s honorable name.
I am not OK with this. None of us should be.
HOW BISHOP WHIPPLE MIGHT REACT
As Minnesota continues to deal with the presence of 3,000 ICE agents in our state, I think of the Episcopalian bishop, known as “Straight Tongue” for his honesty, and how he would react. He would assuredly be on the streets advocating for human rights. He would be talking with the current president, just like he did in 1862 with President Abraham Lincoln. Whipple traveled to DC then to personally plead for the lives of 303 Dakota sentenced to death by hanging.
Whipple would probably also be out buying groceries for Faribault residents afraid to leave their homes. He would be walking kids to their bus stops in trailer parks. He would be preaching peace, love and compassion.
HONORING WHIPPLE’S LEGACY
Those who disliked Whipple, and the Dakota, disparagingly tagged the clergyman as “The Sympathizer.” Little has changed. There are far too many in my community who hate, and, yes, that’s a strong word, anyone whose skin color is other than white. I don’t understand. They all, unless they are Native American, can trace their presence in America back to immigrants.
If only Bishop Henry Whipple was still alive to spread love in Faribault and beyond. It’s up to us to honor his legacy by loving and helping our neighbors during these especially dark days of injustice and oppression.
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FYI: To learn more about the bishop, I direct you (click here) to a previous blog post I wrote about him and his role in Minnesota history following a 2023 presentation at the Rice County Historical Society.
Minnesota Prairie Roots 
“Evening Prayer for Our Nation” planned at Bishop Whipple’s church in Faribault February 2, 2026
Tags: "Evening Prayer for Our Nation", America, Bishop Henry Whipple, Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building, Cathedral of Our Merciful Saviour, commentary, community gathering, faith, Faribault, history, immigrants, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Minnesota, news, prayer service, refugees, social justice
FIFTY MILES FROM THE NON-DESCRIPT Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building currently housing ICE detainees in Minneapolis, a beautiful, aged cathedral rises high in the heart of Faribault. Wednesday evening, February 4, that magnificent, massive cathedral—Bishop Whipple’s church—will center a community gathering.
Beginning at 7 p.m. the historic Cathedral of Our Merciful Saviour will open its doors for “Evening Prayer for Our Nation” in support of Faribault’s refugees and immigrants. The Cathedral’s pastor, the Rev. James Zotalis, and the Rev. Henry Doyle will lead the event, which includes prayers, readings, music and teachings from Bishop Whipple.
Organizers also promise networking opportunities and information about ways to help others.
Bishop Whipple, who shepherded this congregation while serving as the first Episcopal bishop of Minnesota beginning in 1859, would surely be pleased with the upcoming gathering just as he would surely be displeased with the imprisonment of detainees at the federal building bearing his name. He would likely be standing alongside protesters protesting immigration enforcement and asking to visit detainees inside.
This clergyman focused his ministry on “justice and mercy for all.” And that is evidenced in his ministry to the Dakota both in Faribault and parts west in Minnesota and then at Fort Snelling. Whipple went to the fort and ministered to the Dakota held captive there following the U.S.-Dakota War of 1862.
When 303 Dakota were sentenced to hanging after the war, Whipple traveled to Washington DC to ask President Abraham Lincoln to spare their lives. Lincoln pardoned most, but 38 were still hung in the nation’s largest mass execution.
If Bishop Whipple was alive today, I expect he would be doing everything in his power to help anyone threatened and/or taken by ICE and CBC. But because he is not here, it is up to us to help. I know many people in my community are helping quietly behind the scenes. Walking kids to bus stops. Giving co-workers rides. Delivering groceries. Donating money and food. Volunteering.
Wednesday evening’s “Evening Prayer for Our Nation” is needed, too. It’s needed to bring people together in community, to unite, to uplift, to pray, to share, to recharge, to publicly support our neighbors, to find tangible ways to help. Bishop Whipple would feel grateful. He cared. And so should we.
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FYI: Whether you live near or far, Faribault nonprofits are in need of donations to help families sheltering in place during ICE operations in Minnesota. This is not just a Twin Cities metro enforcement. Many communities in greater Minnesota, including mine, are suffering.
Please consider helping immigrants and refugees in my community via a monetary donation to the Community Action Center in Faribault (Community Response Fund) or to St. Vincent de Paul. The need for rental assistance, especially, is growing.
© Copyright 2026 Audrey Kletscher Helbling