On Monday, Sept. 30, Nuns on the Bus and Friends started their two-and-a-half week “Vote Our Future” tour to encourage voter participation. The tour stopped in 11 states and 20 cities, including Chicago, Illinois, where Franciscan Sister of Perpetual Adoration Julia Walsh attended, and Nogales, Arizona, where Franciscan Sister of Perpetual Adoration Eileen McKenzie joined and spoke about the importance of supporting asylum seeking and the significance of voting.
The first stop was a site visit to The Circle Resource Center, a Chicago-based organization that supports women. Reverand Adam Taylor, a rider with Nuns on the Bus, described the center as, “Esta lugar es muy preciosa y muy bonita. Es un lugar de amor y seguridad.” *Translation: “This is a place of incredible beauty of incredible love and incredible security.” Rev. Taylor reflected on the purpose of the bus tour, saying, “Each of us has a power within us, and when we seize that sense of agency, we can create incredible change with our communities. That’s what this bus tour is all about, we are trying to unlock so much of the power of the potential that we know is within our communities in order to ensure everyone thrives — no exceptions!”
Their second stop in Chicago was a town hall at Old St. Patrick’s Church. During the event, Nuns on the Bus and Friends shared six freedoms everyone deserves: freedom to care for ourselves and our families, freedom to be healthy, freedom from harm, freedom to participate in a vibrant democracy, freedom to live on a healthy planet, freedom to live in a welcoming country that values dignity and human rights.
Catherine Darcy, a Sister of Mercy of the Americas and a rider on the tour bus, reflected on her experience with the movement, “I got involved through a New York advocacy group, and it’s been a powerful journey.” When asked about a particularly meaningful moment during her time with Nuns on the Bus, she shared her visit to The Circle Resource Center. “The most meaningful pieces have been when we visited places that help people give direct service, especially to our immigrant brothers and sisters. Women who were once isolated come to this place, The Circle, and they just get a new life and it's because of the community there.”
Sister Catherine highlighted the importance of voter participation, saying, “The biggest part of the message is we want every eligible voter to get out and vote. We want people to be informed voters and not just vote on Nov. 5, but be involved all year round."
On Sunday, Oct. 13, Nuns on the Bus arrived in Nogales, Arizona. Sister Eileen McKenzie, a Mobilization Specialist at Kino Border Initiative, joined to speak about the importance of supporting everyone seeking asylum ... our kin who are on the move. During her speech, she highlighted the strength and resilience of the families she has met at KBI. “I see mothers and children who have gone through such experiences with resilience and strength, and I wonder, why wouldn’t we want these people in our communities? I have hope that our communities can welcome those on the move and be enriched by their resilience, strength and faith.” Sister Eileen concluded her speech by sharing the Immigrants' Creed.
The Immigrants' Creed
I believe in Almighty God,
who guided the people in exile and in exodus,
the God of Joseph in Egypt and Daniel in Babylon,
the God of foreigners and immigrants.
I believe in Jesus Christ,
a displaced Galilean,
who was born away from his people and his home,
who fled his country with his parents when his life was in danger,
and returning to his own country suffered the oppression
of the tyrant Pontius Pilate, the servant of a foreign power,
who then was persecuted, beaten, and finally tortured,
accused and condemned to death unjustly.
But on the third day, this scorned Jesus rose from the dead,
not as a foreigner but to offer us citizenship in heaven.
Read it in its entirety here.
*Editor's note: We want to recognize Blaire Edgerton, who connected us with Sister Catherine Darcy for an interview. Additionally, some photos below in the Canva slideshow are courtesy of NETWORK Lobby.