Interfaith Public Fast Called

In Witness and Solidarity with Sonoma County’s Migrant Communities

Santa Rosa, CA – Religious leaders and people of faith and goodwill in Sonoma County are calling a day of public fasting in solidarity with the migrant communities in the county and across the United States. 

The fast will be held from 7am to 7pm on Wednesday, July 2, 2025, concluding with these events at Old Courthouse Square (3rd St./Santa Rosa Ave) in Santa Rosa:

  • 5pm Gathering and reflection time at Old Courthouse Square

  • 5:30 Silent meditation and witness 

  • 6:30 Closing ceremony 

  • 7:00 Fast-breaking at 7pm – bring a brown bag dinner or snack, and something to share if you wish

(Participants should bring a folding chair and a brown-bag dinner.)

Interfaith Public Fast stands in solidarity with all migrant communities, including LGBTQAI+ migrants and other additionally vulnerable people. Especially in this time of increasing harassment by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which threatens individuals’ rights and the destabilizing of our wider community, we invite people of faith and people of conscience to join us in this act of fasting and non-violence.

Fasting is an ancient tradition in many faiths, used to express contrition, distress, and mourning, and as a mechanism when seeking guidance. We regard fasting additionally as a way to stand as a moral voice in witness and solidarity with suffering and in demand of change. For those for whom abstaining from food is problematic, we suggest alternatives at interfaithpublicfast.org/alternatives.

“As people of faith and people of conscience, it is our sacred responsibility to stand by migrants, LGBTQAI+ folks, and other communities that are most targeted right now,” states Rev. Lindsey Bell-Kerr, of Christ Church United Methodist, and a leader in the Sanctuary Coalition of Sonoma County.  “Fasting is one way that we can come together as a community, and declare our solidarity.”

Rabbi Irwin Keller of Congregation Ner Shalom, one of the co-creators of the Interfaith Public Fast said, “Fasting is a way of taking personal stock of where we stand in preparation for taking action. It is also a signal that while this suffering, this threat to our fellow humans, continues, there is no business as usual. So we take ourselves out of the regular flow of our days through the unusual act of communal fasting.”

Previously, the Interfaith Public Fast held a fast in solidarity and to raise awareness about homelessness in Sonoma County.

For more information about the Interfaith Public Fast or the July 2 event, interested persons can go to interfaithpublicfast.org.

Interfaith Public Fast participating congregations and organizations include: 

  • The Sonoma County Sanctuary Coalition

  • Christ Church United Methodist (Santa Rosa)

  • Community Church of Sebastopol

  • Congregation Ner Shalom (Cotati)

  • Dharma Heart Zen (Sebastopol)

  • Episcopal Church of the Incarnation (Santa Rosa)

  • First Congregational United Church of Christ (Santa Rosa)

  • Interfaith Council of Sonoma County

  • Occidental Laguna Zen Sangha

  • Queer Asylum Accompaniment

  • Redwood Forest Friends Meeting

  • Unitarian Universalists of Petaluma

  • Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Santa Rosa

  • VIDAS (Vital Immigrant Defense Advocacy & Services)