Members of various faith groups walk to support a ceasefire in Gaza (Photo/Dan Leisen)
BY ELAINE KLAASSEN
On Saturday, April 12, dozens of citizens — most of whom are affiliated with Christian denominations or with other faith groups — walked from the nature center at 49th Ave. N. in North Minneapolis, down the Mississippi River to Bdote, the confluence of the Mississippi and Minnesota Rivers. The walk, organized by Christians for a Free Palestine, called for a ceasefire in Gaza and the liberation of Palestine.
The walk was divided into six segments. In each of them, congregants of a participating congregation stopped to pray, preach, sing and lament the suffering in Gaza, remembering that Israeli hostages held by Hamas are also suffering in Gaza. Near the Lake Street Bridge, an interfaith service was held. People from two denominations spoke, as well as a rabbi from Jewish Voices for Peace.
The poem “If I Must Die” by Palestinian poet Refaat Alareer, who was killed in 2023, inspired those attending as they made little kites and tied them to the railing of the bridge:
“If I must die, you must live,” wrote Alareer,
“To tell my story.
To sell my things.
To buy a piece of cloth.
And some strings,
Make it white with a long tail,
So that a child, somewhere in Gaza.
While looking heaven in the eye,
Awaiting his dad who left in a blaze —
And bid no one farewell.
Not even to his flesh.
Not even to himself —
Sees the kite, my kite you made,
Flying up, above.
And thinks for a moment an angel is there,
Bringing back love.
If I must die.
Let it bring hope.
Let it be a tale.”
People I talked with from Mennonite Action felt it was meaningful to walk in solidarity with Gazans, but they were disappointed that the walk didn’t bring greater public awareness to the problem of U.S. support for Israel’s bombing of Gaza, or to the idea that war is wrong and bombing innocent people is wrong, which many Christians believe. They were hoping to convey their message to a new audience.
Debra Keefer Ramage, who writes for Southside Pride and read about the upcoming pilgrimage walk in our newspaper, wanted to connect up with the walk partly as a faith-based protest, but mostly as a more spiritual, perhaps mystical, way of “directing her will toward change” together with others who were doing the same thing. Throughout her adult life she has entered into prayer, meditation and fasting with faith groups, to care about different troubled parts of the world, and now she was looking for that kind of communion with other like-minded souls.
She wasn’t able to walk for health reasons, but was able to be a support person.
She felt the value of the pilgrimage was being a witness, and being visible as people in solidarity with the innocents in Gaza. Meeting others with similar beliefs and vigorously singing together at the lunch “didn’t feel as futile as just holding up a banner. You need that, to keep you in the struggle. Hopefully all of it changes hearts and minds.” She appreciated the fact that the whole event showed a counter to Christian nationalism, which supports the bombing of the tiny strip of land on the Mediterranean full of trapped people.
