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Front Range Mennonites Bring Quilts, Hymnals Inviting John Hickenlooper to Public Service Calling for Ceasefire in Gaza

Hickenlooper will be offered a Mennonite quilt and our letter at the peaceful, public prayer service denouncing the ongoing siege of Gaza.

December 19, 2023, Denver, CO — Mennonites from across Front Range congregations and their allies will hold a public peace service Tuesday afternoon (12/19) at Senator John Hickenlooper’s office calling for him to publicly support the “Ceasefire Resolution”.

Mennonites dressed in black, wrapped in quilts, will be singing hymns and offering prayers of repentance from blue hymnals. Quilts represent the Mennonite witness of peacemaking and global aid. The service is part of a national Mennonite day of action, where over 1,000 Mennonites across the country are expected to participate in what will be the largest Christian mobilization for a ceasefire since the events of October 7th.

WHAT: Mennonites, members of a historic peace church, and their allies will be at Senator John Hickenlooper’s office, calling on members of Senate to support the “Ceasefire Now” resolution led by Rep. Cori Bush and Rashida Tlaib, and for humanitarian assistance to be allowed to enter Gaza.

WHERE: Byron Rogers Federal Building, 1961 Stout St Suite 12-300, Denver, CO 80294

WHEN: Tuesday, December 19, 2023, 4pm

WHO: Mennonites from across the Front Range.

Mennonites across the United States and Canada have been shocked and horrified, first by Hamas’ brutal attacks against Israeli civilians on October 7th, and then by Israel’s continuing attacks on Palestinian civilians, as the death toll climbs into the tens of thousands, including thousands of children. Over the past few weeks, they began to organize into a new movement called Mennonite Action, including “Peace Schools” to organize hundreds of North American Mennonites to take public action to support a ceasefire. The actions planned for Tuesday will be the new movement’s first public actions.

“As Mennonite Christians and as pacifists, we are called to be like Jesus and nonviolently use our bodies, our words, and our platforms to oppose injustice everywhere,” says Ryan Koch, pastor of Glennon Heights Mennonite Church in Lakewood, Colorado. “The Palestinian people must be free and safe. The genocide of Palestinians must stop now. Today, we urge you to listen and respond to our Palestinian, Jewish, Arab, and Muslim friends and loved ones who are calling for an immediate ceasefire.”

Mennonite Action is a new movement of Mennonites bonded by a common belief that we have a responsibility to use our voices as powerfully as possible for the cause of peace and justice. We are members of an historic peace church who are mobilizing fellow Mennonites and Anabaptists across the United States and Canada to use creative nonviolent actions to demand a ceasefire, end the US and western funded occupation of Palestine, and build for a lasting peace.

Dozens gathered as a part of the nation wide Mennonite Action peace demonstrations Tuesday