LYNN — Clergy and community leaders gathered on Lynn Common Sunday night to mark their month-long fast in support of a pathway to citizenship for essential workers among the population of undocumented immigrants.
The fast, during which about 25 people in Essex County took part, began June 9.
The Essex County Community Organization (ECCO) and the national group Faith in Action hosted Sunday night’s event near the gazebo at the center of the park. The observance consisted of a vigil to mark the fast, and the breaking of the fast at the end.
Those fasting were doing so to assist Faith in Action’s #WeAreEssential Fast for Freedom.
Since June 9, dozens of fasters from around the country have gathered in stages in Washington D.C. to encourage Congress to use the jobs and infrastructure package and budget reconciliation to codify a path to citizenship for 11 million undocumented community members – “many of whom have kept our families and our economy functioning as essential workers during the pandemic.,” said Aviva Herr-Welber of ECCO. Nationally, the fast will continue through July 4.
“I am fasting because I want members of my community to be able to finally achieve their dreams,” said Xochilt Sorto, an ECCO leader and member of Centro Cristano Adonai of Peabody. “I hate seeing members of my community exploited by low wages, living in fear, unable to dream of a bright future because our government won’t provide them a pathway to citizenship.
“I pray that this fast will increase pressure on our government to finally do justice,” she said.
Those who fasted shared their stories of participation. Following that was a prayer ritual and then a break-the-fast meal.
This date is also recognized as a fast day in the Jewish community as Shiva-asar b’Tammuz, in observance of the destruction of the walls of Jerusalem by the Roman empire which led to the fall of the Second Temple.
“The Rabbis teach that the holy Temple was destroyed because of baseless hatred in the world,” said Rabbi Margie Klein Ronkin, Director of Clergy and Leadership Development at ECCO. “Today, we fast not only to mourn the baseless hatred of years past, but to decry the baseless hatred we witness in today, which allows us to deny citizenship to the very people that have kept us alive through the pandemic. We fast to insist that it is time for action, time to create a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrant essential workers so critical to the fabric of our communities.”
