People’s World: ‘Jesus came from the working class:’ Faith leaders back May Day actions
April 25, 2025 3:05 PM CDT By Brandon Chew
Rev. C.J. Hawking speaks during a news conference at Arise Chicago, a nonprofit organization, in Chicago, Il., April 24, 2025. (People’s World)
CHICAGO – Community organizers and faith leaders from Jewish, Christian, and Muslim communities gathered to announce the formation of an interfaith gathering at next week’s May Day parade in Chicago.
Faith leaders encouraged resistance to the Trump administration’s policies, with a special emphasis on protecting the rights of immigrant workers. The announcement was made during a news conference on April 24 at Arise Chicago, a nonprofit organization that seeks to build partnerships “between faith communities and workers to fight workplace injustice” and advocate for public policy changes.
“Today friends, we announce the Interfaith Gathering on May Day, where the faith community – Muslims, Jews, Catholics, Christians, and Unitarian Universalists – will gather to honor in song and prayer, and we will gather to show our steadfast support for immigrants and workers. We will be lifting our voices at this interfaith service in Spanish, English, Arabic, and Hebrew,” said Reverend C.J. Hawking, the executive director of Arise Chicago and a United Methodist pastor.
Before her opening remarks, Rev. Hawking called for a moment of silence in honor of Pope Francis, who died on April 21 at the age of 88 and who Rev. Hawking described as a “great interfaith leader.”
“In sharp contrast to the Pope, the Trump administration is attacking workers, immigrants, our government workers, and agencies that protect lives, including the Department of Labor, OSHA, and the National Labor Relations Board,” Rev. Hawking said.
“Our government is disappearing those who disagree with how the government is being run,” Rev. Hawking continued. “Our government is intentionally creating a culture of fear. And friends, we are marching against this because God does not retreat, and neither will we.”
In an interview with People’s World shortly after the news conference, Rev. Hawking described President Donald Trump’s immigration policies and his slashing of the federal government as “cataclysmic.”
“Right now, our systems that protect us and govern for the common good are being dismantled at a very rapid pace,” Rev. Hawking said. “It’s going to take us 20 or 30 years to get these government offices back in place and to have the protections once again that we need.”
Several faith and community organizations joined Arise Chicago to announce the interfaith gathering, including representatives from The Resurrection Project, Sisters and Brothers of Immigrants, Priests for Justice for Immigrants, the Council on American-Islamic Affairs (CAIR), The People’s Lobby, and more.
Rabbi Steven Philp, with Mishkan Chicago, drew comparisons between the history of the Jewish people and the experiences of immigrants and migrants in the United States.
“The story of the Jewish people is one of displacement and migration, of seeking refuge on distant shores and finding safe haven in this country,” Rabbi Philp said. “Throughout our history, we as Jews have existed on the margins of society, working hard to build a better life for ourselves and for each other, despite the trauma and the terror inflicted upon us.”
“The Torah teaches us that we know the soul of the stranger, for we have been strangers ourselves,” Rabbi Philp said. “We know the soul of the immigrant, the refugee, the worker and the laborer, because we have also been immigrants and refugees, workers and laborers, your story is our story. And so in this moment, we are called to stand with you in solidarity against the repeated attacks on your fundamental rights.”
In his statement, Rabbi Philp said he refuses the “false promise of Jewish safety” offered by the Trump administration. He denounced what he called the “use of Jewish fear as a weapon to target our most vulnerable, to overturn due process or to tear down the institutions that are guarantors of a vibrant multicultural democracy.”
Hafsa Haider, the communications coordinator for CAIR-Chicago, encouraged Muslims to take part in the interfaith gathering to “stand in solidarity with those fighting for justice.”
“We call on our Muslim community to join us. We must defend free speech and stand against the targeting of immigrants, workers, students, and activists who are facing wrongful deportations, evictions, visa revocations, criminalization, doxing, firing, and even kidnapping and imprisonment.”
Haider, herself the daughter of immigrants, said CAIR, as of late, has been handling several cases of people who have been targeted for pro-Palestinian activism and encouraged people to visit CAIR-Chicago’s website to access their services.
“While our work is largely on defending folks’ civil rights, we’ve been taking so many cases of employee doxing and the wrongful firing and punitive measures against students, activists, workers, immigrants all around Chicago and the greater nation who have been under attack, especially when they are protesting for a free Palestine,” Haider said in an interview.
Rev. John Thomas, who serves as president of the board of directors at Arise Chicago, was also present at the news conference. He encouraged people to demonstrate on May Day against what he called “the cruelty being thrown at the immigrant community and at workers by the Trump administration.”
“This is a very difficult time,” Rev.Thomas said in an interview. “Vulnerable people are being attacked, and it’s important for the faith community to stand with them and let them know that we will resist these efforts to demonize and demoralize our neighbors.”
He highlighted the life of Jesus as an example of hope in times of persecution.
“Jesus was a peasant, Jesus came from the working class, and Jesus was crucified by the empire, by people in political power,” Rev. Thomas said. “But we Christians believe in the resurrection and therefore the crucifixion, the assault on vulnerable people, the death of Jesus, is not the last word, but there’s hope and there’s promise and there’s new life. And that’s what we want to bear witness to.”
The interfaith gathering will be held from 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. at Union Park in Chicago, just prior to the start of the May Day parade on May 1.
For more information about the interfaith gathering, visit Arise Chicago’s website.