For People with Bishop Rob Wright
For People with Bishop Rob Wright
Mobilizing for Christian Love During Crisis
In this special release episode, Bishop Rob Wright speaks with Bishop Craig Loya of the Episcopal Church in Minnesota about the immigration crisis unfolding in Minnesota and beyond. Recorded as a resource for clergy and lay leaders, the conversation moves beyond headlines to the lived realities facing immigrant communities.
“On the one hand, we’re seeing a campaign of cruelty and intimidation and violence. On the other hand, we’re seeing the faith community mobilizing for love.” — Bishop Craig Loya
“The central question for followers of Jesus is always the same: What does Christian love require of us now?” — Bishop Rob Wright
Bishop Loya shares how Episcopal congregations are responding with care—delivering food to families afraid to leave their homes, expanding food pantries, caring for children, and standing vigil outside daycares—while also naming the fear and trauma communities are experiencing.
These themes echo a recent letter signed by 154 bishops across The Episcopal Church, including Bishop Wright. Addressed to the American people, the letter calls for accountability, restraint, and renewed commitment to human dignity, asking a simple and urgent question: Whose dignity matters Together, the podcast and the bishops’ letter offer a clear call to prayer, moral courage, and faithful action in a time of fear.
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The lay leaders of one of our congregations, who is a U.S. citizen, was stuck in traffic. And ICE arrested her, took her to the federal building, booked her, held her for a few hours, and let her go. One of the things that's important for me to let people outside of Minnesota know is that really what the community is responding to is that uh what's happening here goes way beyond what can reasonably be understood as law enforcement.
Bishop Wright:Hi, everyone. This is Bishop Rob Wright, and this is for people. Uh special guest today, timely guest today, Bishop Craig Loya of the Episcopal Church in Minnesota. Bishop Craig, welcome.
Bishop Loya:I'm really glad to be with you. I've been a listener of your podcast and uh really appreciate your voice and the other voices you bring to this.
Bishop Wright:I appreciate that. Uh uh Craig is just a little bit of background. Craig is uh a Nebraska boy who went off to Yale uh Divinity School and did some studies there. He's married to Melissa and they parent two kids. And Craig has been the Bishop of Minnesota now, well, elected, just about five years. And uh we wanted to get you on, so thanks for making time because there's lots of stories out there and we see lots of images in the news, et cetera. But I always like to talk to people on the ground. And so, what's it like right now to be a faith leader in Minnesota?
Bishop Loya:Yeah, I would say that what we're seeing on the ground in Minnesota is two stories unfolding at the same time in stark contrast to one another.
Bishop Wright:Okay.
Bishop Loya:On the one hand, we're seeing a campaign of cruelty and intimidation and violence being waged by the federal government against its own people. And on the other hand, we are seeing the faith community here in Minnesota, along with many others, respond with something you and I know is much more powerful, which is mobilizing for love. Yeah. So I think, you know, outside of Minnesota, I would imagine that it's easy to see the cruelty, everybody seeing the videos, the chaos, the killings that we've experienced. I'm not sure the mobilizing for love is as obvious and easy to see, but it is the thing that is most powerful for me in this moment.
Bishop Wright:Yeah, no, we're not seeing that. I mean, we're we're we're seeing things with our own eyes, and then high-ranking officials are telling us uh, you know, to not believe our lying eyes, and um, and we're seeing uh we're seeing uh you know law enforcement tactics uh which do not seem to be the norm uh in lots of places. Um, you know, I uh have a relationship with law enforcement here in Atlanta. I've had the privilege of preaching at the uh Academy graduations a couple times. No law enforcement, respect law enforcement, and uh and it's hard to notice and see de-escalation uh that's happening there. Um so yeah, so tell us a little bit about uh people mobilizing for love. Tell us a little bit about that, which we don't see.
Bishop Loya:Yeah, so there are any number of people, both uh immigrants and citizens, who are unable to leave their homes uh because of what's happening. So uh there are large numbers of people in Minnesota who really haven't left their homes for several weeks. And so there are our local faith communities here in the Episcopal Diocese are organizing these incredible networks of people who will deliver food and other supplies uh to people who are stuck at home. Uh, we have this amazing ministry at one of our Spanish-speaking congregations in a predominantly immigrant neighborhood that uh even before all of this happened, was uh doing a basic food pantry that was incredible. And they've almost um their demand has gone up almost fivefold from what it was before this. And so they're rapidly trying to scale up. People from around the diocese are jumping in and around the wider church are jumping in uh to support them with funding and with volunteers. Uh, people are watching each other's kids because a lot of our schools are not safe right now, and so a lot of kids are uh at home. The schools uh have offered the option of kids to engage in distance online learning. Um, people are keeping watch outside of daycares. One of the most heartbreaking moments for me in the last couple of weeks was when I was meeting with a vestry, and the treasurer of this congregation uh looked at me with tears in his eyes to explain how he and other parents were taking turns uh watching outside of their kids' preschool. So the stories go on and on and on about the ways in which this community is responding with care and love to the cruelty and fear that is uh being thrown at us.
Bishop Wright:Now, Craig, you you're uh a spiritual leader of thousands of folks uh, you know, in Minnesota. And I'm guessing that there are lots of opinions about you know uh the immigrant and the stranger uh you know in our midst in in Minnesota. And so how are you uh threading that needle? I mean, on the one hand, uh, you know, secure borders makes sense. On the one hand, um, you know, getting violent criminals out of our communities and keeping the community safe makes a lot of sense, right? Uh and at the same time, we have this Bible uh biblical mandate again and again and again about how we are supposed to treat the immigrant and the stranger and the foreigner in our midst. So so walk me through how you're threading that needle on the ground.
Bishop Loya:Yeah, I think what I'm trying to do is really lean on the promises that we make as bishops in terms of taking my cue about how to lead in a moment like this. And and one of the promises that we make is to boldly proclaim the gospel of Jesus and to stir up the conscience of our people. So, what I'm trying to do in my leadership is help the communities that I lead and serve stay grounded in who we know Jesus to be and what we know the gospel calls us to. So there's no question that uh people of faith, followers of Jesus, can have all kinds of different perspectives on what, say, immigration policy should be. Sure. But what is non-negotiable, and so this is not a needle that needs to be threaded, is uh what the how the gospel calls us to treat our fellow human beings and particularly our fellow human beings who are weak, who are vulnerable, who are marginalized, and who are immigrants. You know, in some ways I would say there's no clearer moral imperative than the in the entire Bible than uh our obligation to care for the stranger. So so the moment is complex and challenging, but the the moral response that we are called to offer seems clear.
Bishop Wright:Yeah, you know, uh someone told me a long time ago as I was uh being ordained uh a priest and then later a bishop and said, you know, the only real authority that you can exert, I mean, you know, you have authority in the office and various different uh bits and pieces, but moral authority is really what you have. And so people sort of want to know uh when you're standing up talking, uh, you know, where you stand. And so you're you're taking a clear stand. You're you're you're standing with the immigrant and the foreigner, et cetera. Does that mean that you're against law enforcement and ICE? What does that mean?
Bishop Loya:You know, as I said, I think there are um there are lots of different ways that immigration policy could be constructed. There are lots of different ways in which that those policies could be enforced. But I think one of the things that's really important for people who are not in Minnesota to understand in this moment is that what we are seeing is really not about law enforcement. So the lay leaders of one of our congregations, who is a U.S. citizen, was stuck in traffic. And ICE uh smashed the window of her car, uh, dragged her out of her car, arrested her, took her to the federal building, booked her, held her for a few hours, and let her go. And and those stories happen multiple times every day. So I think one of the things that's important for me to let people outside of Minnesota know is that uh really what the community is responding to is that uh what's happening here is is goes way beyond um what can reasonably be understood as law enforcement.
Bishop Wright:You know, we're we're watching the news and and we're getting some sense, uh, and you can help us parse this, we're getting some sense that there's a de-escalation. We see that the president is talking to the governor there uh and to the mayor, uh, and uh Mr. Holman is there in uh now. Is there a sense that there's de-escalation now?
Bishop Loya:There's not a sense on the ground that there's de-escalation. Uh just this morning, right before we came on, uh I saw the news that two journalists who had been covering the protests that happened at the church in St. Paul uh have been arrested this morning. So it does not seem like there's a de-escalation. It seems like what has happened is a rather cosmetic change uh because um more and more the nation is seeing what's really happening here.
Bishop Wright:One of our colleagues, uh the Bishop of New Hampshire, Rob Hirschfeld, uh has said to his clergy that uh perhaps now is the time uh for putting our body in harm's way rather than making statements. He's told his clergy, and I'm sure you've you you know this, he's told his clergy uh to get their affairs in order, to make sure wills and various other pieces of paper are filed. And so he's not inviting people to take up martyrdom, but he's saying that at some point the gospel does include risk, risk to life and limb on behalf of the vulnerable. What do you say about that?
Bishop Loya:Well, the first thing I would say is that Rob is a far wiser and more faithful bishop than I am. And the second thing I would say is that, you know, the central question for a follower of Jesus is always what does love require of me? And and you and I both know, and I think anyone who's a follower of Jesus knows, that love is always about seeking good for the other, and and particularly the weak and the vulnerable other. And so there are always periods in history where the answering the question, what does love require faithfully, involves putting our very lives on the line. So I would say it's always a possibility for a follower of Jesus. And the kind of brutality that I'm seeing in this moment uh suggests that it's it's not it's not hard to imagine that being the case in this moment.
Bishop Wright:It it is either ironic or poetic uh that we're heading toward our 250th year as a nation. And uh and and the truth of the matter is that um we have this republic because people took risks, um, because people put themselves in harm's way for democracy, uh for women's suffrage, for civil rights, uh, for the embrace uh and safety of gay and lesbian people, uh, to be who they are in our midst. And so in in some ways, you know, this is exactly where we where we need to be, which is again, asking ourselves, what does love require? And is democracy something worth saving? Mm-hmm. Absolutely.
Bishop Loya:And I I think there's a there's a way in which what you're seeing in Minnesota, while there's this almost unprecedented, at least in my lifetime, government overreach and disregard for the Constitution and the rule of law, you're also seeing in the response here in Minnesota uh democracy working as it's designed to do. Uh when I was in Washington yesterday, one of the things that I heard over and over from uh senators and their staff is that uh a week ago today, there was a big march in Minneapolis that drew um more than 50,000 people in the negative 20-degree. Yeah, unbelievable. Yeah. And you know, that that that protest, that demonstration, that uh peaceful resistance, what I heard in Washington yesterday is that made a big impression on people seeing the depth of the pain here and what is happening here. And it seems like that is a fundamentally, that march is a fundamentally democratic and American way to engage in uh resistance or dissent.
Bishop Wright:And that has been my prayers. I watched uh here in Atlanta what was going on in Minnesota, and remembering uh all the lessons we learned in civil rights here, and we have a lot of those, those leaders still, those ancestors right here in Atlanta, remembering that nonviolence uh was really the key uh to bringing people to negotiation tables, um, and that um, you know, the communities uh refuse to be baited um to be destructive to property or or uh to be violent uh to law enforcement. Um that seems to me to be still the key. There's a genius there that forces people to negotiate. And so when I saw that 50,000 folks out in uh sub-degree, you know, um sub-freezing weather, I thought to myself, thank God. And uh I just want everybody to stay nonviolent so we can actually get to what we really need to get to, which is how do we beat back this authoritarianism and this abuse and this brutality? Yeah, absolutely.
Bishop Loya:I think you know, the core of the gospel of Jesus Christ, it seems to me, is that love is the most powerful force for change in the universe.
Bishop Wright:Yeah.
Bishop Loya:And I think it's been amazing the way this community has continued to show up nonviolently, despite the real anger and fear that exists in this community. And and uh one of the things that I'm trying to do as a bishop is remind myself and help remind the people who are listening to me that it is the most natural and justified thing in this moment to be angry. But you know, outrage is the currency of empire, and mimetic anger is its food. And so I think the the spiritual discipline for followers of Jesus in a moment like this is how do we really feel the anger that's natural and justifiable and inevitable, and then not stay there by tethering our hearts to the living God of love.
Bishop Wright:Well, and and it's it's true, isn't it? And um, you know, with this 24-hour news cycle, uh, you know, and being bombarded with these images, I imagine some people are being seduced. Well-meaning people of all stripes are being seduced to despair. They're just saying, wow, you know, this is overwhelming. Um, it seems like authoritarianism is just sort of running rampant through our streets. Um, you know, what is our recourse? What does due process even mean? And uh, and they can really lapse into despair. So so I suppose that's where we need to go next is that as someone who gets called to the microphone to speak to people and to care for people and to try to encourage people, how are you encouraging yourself? How are you staying hopeful and keeping despair at bay?
Bishop Loya:Yeah, I think in several ways, um, you know, uh we wouldn't be human if we did not occasionally succumb to despair in a difficult moment like this. And what I found over and over throughout my life is that the only way I can be sure that my words and my actions are faithful or have anything to do with the gospel of Jesus is if I am grounding my heart, my soul every day in prayer by drinking deeply from the well of God's love. So that's that's a thing that I'm having to rely on when I'm at my best uh every day. I I think also, Rob, one of the things that's been overwhelming to me and to all of us in the Diocese of Minnesota in this moment is the way in which we feel so held by the wider Episcopal Church. I've had so many phone calls and text messages and emails and people sending packages, and uh, it's it's almost too much to be able to keep up with and respond to. And so it's one of the first times or or one of the most important times in my ministry when I am palpably aware of what it means to be part of this vast field of care and love in the Episcopal Church.
Bishop Wright:Yeah. You know, it it um it makes a difference, uh, that Bible verse, that we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, because one of the ways that despair gets us, particularly at these very, very difficult and trying intersections, is uh we can be tempted to believe we're alone.
Bishop Loya:Absolutely.
Bishop Wright:And yeah. And so yeah, feelings of loneliness come, but you know, that's one of the great gifts of our faith is knowing that, you know, sort of cosmically, uh, you know, the ancestors are always close to us across time and space. And that when we're doing this kind of work, consequential work, on behalf of uh of neighbor, uh and particularly vulnerable neighbor, that somehow we are united spiritually with those who have gone before us. And so we might look to our left and right and not see anybody, but we are nevertheless uh surrounded. So I hope you feel that.
Bishop Loya:We really do. And not only from other people around the Episcopal Church right now, but uh to your point, I'm deeply aware, and one of the places where I find hope to be an antidote to the despair that's so uh prevalent right now is in remembering those spiritual ancestors and in remembering that uh while while we all suffer uniquely, our suffering is not unique, that the the people of God have been here before. And so we can draw strength and wisdom for how to engage this moment from the ways in which uh followers of Jesus have engaged this moment in many points throughout history.
Bishop Wright:Right. Over two millennia, right? As uh St. Paul would say, you know, we're just uh this latest iteration in a very long parade. Uh and so, well, uh I I guess what I want to know before we wrap up is that there are lots of people listening who care deeply, and we want to know how we can help. Is there is there any mechanism where we can uh let you know that we're thinking and praying for you or send you some resources to help you support the least? Absolutely.
Bishop Loya:I think um the most important thing anyone can do for us is to continue to pray for us. And we covet those prayers and we're so deeply grateful for those prayers. I think a second thing people can do is this is a moment where it's important for people outside of Minnesota to be speaking out about what is happening. Because while what is happening is uh particularly intense in Minnesota right now, uh it's not just about Minnesota. This is about um uh a fundamental and existential threat to our democracy. So Speaking out, uh people outside of Minnesota speaking out is really important. And then uh the third thing people can do that will make an enormous difference and already is, um, is to contribute financially to two of our one of one of our uh two most important uh ministries in this moment. One is uh Casamaria, which is that ministry that I referred to earlier, that provides food and supplies and other things to um immigrants and others who are not able to leave their homes. And then a year ago, after the Trump administration ended all funding for refugees, uh I established in the diocese a migrant support fund. And that that in this moment is also providing really critical assistance for rent and legal assistance and other sorts of things. So if people want to financially contribute, those are two places that are doing really transformational work right now.
Bishop Wright:And we can send those funds to the diocese of the Episcopal Diocese of Minnesota, yeah? And just to earmark those funds for those two uh expressions. That's exactly right. That's exactly right. Yeah. Well, Craig, uh, as we wrap up, just know you are not alone. Uh, you and the people you love and serve are loved and held and cared for, uh, even though we are at a distance from you. We are beside you. And I know I speak for a lot of people when I say that. Um, and so we bless you. We ask God to continue to bless you, bless your household and your family, and may God continue to make you strong as you stand up uh for the gospel at this time. Thanks, Rob. We're really grateful.