NJ Clergy Members Protest Immigration Crackdown With 'Pilgrimage' On Good Friday [PHOTOS]

ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — It was a way to “pray with their feet,” organizers say.

More than 100 local clergy members and parishioners marched 10 miles across Essex County on Good Friday to protest the ongoing federal immigration crackdown.

The pilgrimage ended at Delaney Hall in Newark, making several stops along the way: First Congregational Church in Montclair, Christ Episcopal Church in Glen Ridge, and Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart in Newark.

After stopping at St. Stephan’s Church in Newark, dozens more people joined the procession to the privately run prison, which is paid to house federal immigration detainees.

At Delaney Hall, a short service of prayer was offered – including the reading of names of people who have died in ICE detention. Related: NJ Immigrant Detainee Dies In ICE Custody, Sparking Outcry From Advocates

Here’s why participants hit the streets last weekend, organizers said:

“The pilgrimage aimed to bear witness to the suffering of those in ICE detention, including those who have died in state custody. The group wanted to walk in solidarity with their immigrant neighbors living in fear. Participants were united by a shared conviction that Good Friday calls us to confront state violence, unjust suffering, and the persecution of the innocent; and that we are currently seeing that same pattern of persecution reflected in the treatment of immigrants in America.”

Participating parishes and groups included: Christ Episcopal Church (Bloomfield and Glen Ridge), First Congregational Church (Montclair), First Lutheran Church of Montclair, Glen Ridge Congregational Church, Packanack Community Church (Wayne), Pax Christi-New Jersey, St. Stephan’s Grace Community (Newark), Union Congregational Church (Montclair), Unitarian Universalist Congregation at Montclair.

“On Good Friday, Christians must ask: ‘Where do we see Christ crucified today?’” said the Rev. Diana Wilcox, rector at Christ Episcopal Church.

“We are quite literally praying with our feet,” said the Rev. John Rogers, co-pastor of First Congregational Church. “We are walking together as people of faith to stand in solidarity with our immigrant neighbors.”

“Good Friday asks us: where do we stand in the face of suffering?” questioned the Rev. Katrina Forman, lead minister at Union Congregational Church. “This pilgrimage is our answer.”

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