Pacers for Justice and Peace, a recently-formed group of Marywood faculty and staff, will hold an interfaith prayer and reflection to bring the community together today at 5 p.m. in the Rotunda of the Liberal Arts Center.

The group’s goal is to create open places for dialogue, activism, support and conversation.

According to an email from Melinda Krokus, assistant professor of Religious Studies and member of Pacers for Justice and Peace, the entire Marywood community is invited “in friendship, hope and solidarity with refugees and immigrants.”
The prayer and reflection is open to the entire Marywood community.

They community prayer comes just one day after the IHM Sisters, the official sponsors of Marywood University, released a public response to President Trump’s recent executive order banning refugees and immigrants from seven Middle Eastern countries.

“As persons committed to justice,” the response reads in part, “we stand with those filled with holy outrage as we object to President Trump’s recent executive orders on both immigration and refugee resettlement, policies that stand in direct opposition to the Gospel values on which our IHM Core Values are based.”

Sr. Mary Ann Zimmer, chair of the Religious Studies department and member of Pacers for Justice and Peace, said it is time for the Marywood community to come together to support those who are feeling afraid or endangered by the recent political activity in the United States.

An email from the Pacers for Justice and Peace said that ­“in the United States today, a lot of groups across the political spectrum feel disrespected” and “some people even feel threatened, unsafe, or unwelcome.”

The group invited all members of the community to wear green and gold ribbons “as a symbol of our willingness to advocate for justice.”

If a student is feeling afraid or unsafe, they should speak to individuals on campus who are wearing these ribbons for support, said Zimmer.

Zimmer said she hopes to hold these reflections more often, specifically when events like the recent attack on a Quebec City mosque and President Trump’s executive order to reject refugees occur.

“We would like it to be the kind of thing that we can call the community together whenever we feel the need,” said Zimmer.

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