Every Tuesday, people of many faiths gather outside MDC Brooklyn. Here is how your community can join, whatever its size.
One of the six demands is admittance for outside clergy to serve people held inside. It is work congregations know how to do and are not allowed to do there. About 1,500 people are confined at MDC Brooklyn, roughly 200 of them in two units designated for ICE.
Include the people held at MDC Brooklyn, and their families, in a prayer, a sermon, or a moment of silence. Adapt it to your tradition.
A short announcement at a service or in the bulletin reaches more people than you would expect.
Come together on a Tuesday, 6 to 7 PM. Bring your clergy or lay leader, your choir, or a few families from the congregation. The vigil includes sermons from different traditions, singing, and a march to the front of the West Building.
Send a letter from your congregation to MDC's warden asking that outside clergy be admitted. Send it by certified mail and keep a copy. Ask for a written reply.
Take up a collection, run a clothing or food drive, or form a care team for families with loved ones at MDC. Dignity Toolkit delivers food and clothing and runs a support tent on Saturdays.
Choose a rhythm your community can keep: a monthly prayer, one Sunday a month given to MDC, a regular collection, or a standing delegation to the vigil. Attention fades fast. Staying with it is what changes things.
Your community can also call officials. There are short scripts and the status of the state bill.