A New Hampshire Episcopal bishop said clergy should get their “affairs in order” in a warning that Christians may be entering a “new era of martyrdom.”
Bishop Rob Hirschfeld made the remarks earlier this month at a vigil honoring Renee Good, who was fatally shot on Jan. 7 behind the wheel of her vehicle by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer, the Associated Press reported.
Hirschfeld’s comments drew national attention amid a dispute over the officer’s use of force. The Trump administration defended the actions, saying the officer fired in self-defense while standing in front of Good’s vehicle as it began to move forward, AP reported.
The self-defense account has been criticized by Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, among others, based on videos of the confrontation, AP said.
At the vigil, Hirschfeld told clergy “we may be entering into that same witness,” AP reported. He said he had asked them to “get their affairs in order,” including making sure their wills were written.
Hirschfeld said the moment might no longer be “the time for statements,” but instead for believers “with our bodies, to stand between the powers of this world and the most vulnerable,” AP reported. He did not call for violence, the report said, adding that people of Christian faith should not fear death.
In the same speech, Hirschfeld said, “Those of us who are ready to build a new world, we also have to be prepared,” and he added, “If we truly want to live without fear, we cannot fear even death itself, my friends,” AP reported.
AP said Hirschfeld’s address also cited historical clergy members who risked their lives to protect others, including Jonathan Daniels. The report said Daniels was shot and killed by a sheriff’s deputy in Alabama in 1965 while shielding a young Black civil rights activist.
Other Episcopal leaders have also called for Christians to protect immigrants and refugees amid what they describe as increased pressure under the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement, AP reported. Most Rev. Sean W. Rowe, the presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church, said during a prayer earlier this week, “We keep resisting, advocating, bearing witness and repairing the breach.”
Rowe also said, “We keep sheltering and caring for those among us who are immigrants and refugees because they are beloved by God, and without them, we cannot fully be the church,” AP reported.
In Minnesota, Rt. Rev. Craig Loya urged people not to meet “hatred with hatred” and to focus on love in “a world obviously not fine,” AP reported. Loya said, “We are going to make like our ancient ancestors, and turn the world upside down by mobilizing for love,” adding that people will “disrupt with Jesus’ hope” and “agitate with Jesus’ love.”