On Tuesday evening, October 13, 2026, the Westminster Presbyterian Church’s Session voted unanimously to support our congregation’s participation in a series of weekly ecumenical vigils to bear witness to ICE violence, standing firmly against the brutality and inhumanity of their actions in the New York Capital Region and beyond. We are currently planning to host our own vigil on the steps in front of Westminster this December, providing a visible anchor of our faith and institutional support right at our doors.
This is part of a broader, ongoing movement. Capital District Border Watch and the Capital Region Sanctuary Coalition have brought together faith leaders, grassroots activists, and community organizations to take turns organizing weekly memorial events. We will be regularly sharing the schedule so you can participate; the next vigil will take place in Guilderland at the intersection of Route 20 and Route 155 from 4:30 to 5:30 pm on October 19. Furthermore, all of our fellow FOCUS Churches of Albany are currently considering participating, and the board at Delmar Reformed Church has already voted to join and will also host a vigil in December.
These public actions are urgently needed here at home. This past August, there was a surge of immigration enforcement right here in Albany. Because these actions took place early in the morning, they largely evaded public scrutiny. By standing on the street and bearing witness, we are making the terrifying impact of ICE actions visible to our whole community. During these solemn events, we will hold materials bearing the faces and names of people who have been murdered by ICE or who have died in detention.
For many in our congregation, this is deeply personal. During Tuesday’s Session discussion, Elders spoke movingly about the very real impact current immigration policies are having on their own communities, friends, and families. People known to us personally have been forced into hiding. Others live in constant terror that their family members will be detained and taken into immigration custody, vanishing without their loved ones knowing where they are or having any ability to contact them.
Our congregation has been thoughtfully preparing for this step. In August, I preached on my own experience attending a vigil in Troy, exploring what it means to bear witness to this crisis. We continued the conversation at our October 6 “Faith in Action” potluck, where we focused on current immigration policy and heard directly from members of Capital Region Border Watch.
This recent vote puts our established convictions into action, building directly upon our October 2025 adoption of the Albany Presbytery’s “We Cannot Remain Silent” statement. We affirmed then, and we demonstrate now, that God holds a special concern for the vulnerable. We will not forget these members of our community, and we invite you to stand with us.
