Why Communities Move Toward Each Other in Crisis with Rev. Jen Crow

In one of the most powerful episodes of Rochester Living to date, Corey James Moran and Mark Siwiec are joined by the Reverend Jen Crow, a Minneapolis-based minister who has been at the center of one of the most turbulent chapters in recent American civic life. What began as a conversation about community resilience became a profound meditation on courage, compassion, and what it means to keep moving toward each other — even when everything around you is terrifying.

700 Clergy, One Airport, One Morning

Rev. Crow describes the moment that brought her to national attention: a gathering of approximately 700 faith leaders from across the country who convened in Minneapolis for nonviolent civil disobedience training. On a Friday morning — the day before a legal observer named Renee Good was killed — a group of roughly 100 clergy marched to the Minneapolis airport to share the stories of young airport workers who had been detained by federal immigration agents. Using a bullhorn, they prayed for those who had been taken and for a turning of heart in those inflicting the harm.

'I wasn't scared that morning,' she says, 'partly because I was with so many of my friends and colleagues, and I felt so clear about what we were doing. The clarity of purpose helps alleviate the fear — or at least helps me put it aside.' The group was arrested, processed carefully by local police, and released. Rev. Crow notes the striking contrast between the local officers — who were 'very careful with us and with our bodies' — and the behavior of federal agents, which she describes as operating outside established legal norms.

The Day Renee Good Was Killed

The conversation turns to the death of Renee Good, a legal observer who was shot and killed by federal agents while documenting an immigration enforcement action near an elementary school in Minneapolis. Rev. Crow was about to walk into a routine work meeting when her phone began flooding with messages from other clergy. She and a colleague drove to the scene — about a mile from her church and her home — to find at least 50 militarized ICE vehicles and agents in full riot gear surrounding the area where Renee had been shot.

'We saw her car. We could see agents going through things. We were hearing stories from neighbors who had witnessed the shooting.' The clergy gathered and prayed for Renee's healing. It was only after that prayer, standing at the site where she had been shot, that they learned she had died. 'We prayed again.' The grief in Rev. Crow's voice is palpable even in transcript form.

She also describes the man who emerged from a nearby apartment building in white Crocs and no coat, carrying a bullhorn and a rainbow fan, leading the crowd in chants and songs for nearly two hours. 'He brought whatever he had. He showed up with whatever he could.' That image — of ordinary people bringing their particular gifts to an extraordinary moment of crisis — becomes a recurring theme of the episode.

Rochester as Inspiration

In a moment that surprised and moved both hosts, Rev. Crow shares that a story from Rochester directly inspired her Minneapolis congregation. She describes how a Rochester church held a summer potluck and invited local organizers to train attendees in legal observing. The very next day, a call went out that federal agents had shown up at a Rochester construction site. Members of that congregation showed up as legal observers — and their presence helped prevent several detentions.

'I told that story to my congregation and they applauded — and then signed up for the rapid responder legal training we were offering that weekend. We had 100 people in our church social hall learning how to be legal observers. So you all in Rochester were a huge part of inspiring my congregation here.' Mark and Corey are visibly moved.

Moving Toward Each Other

The episode's central message — keep moving toward each other — is not a platitude but a hard-won practice. Rev. Crow describes accompanying congregation members to immigration hearings, looking into the eyes of people experiencing sheer terror about what comes next. She describes a mother in her congregation who started by helping her child's best friend's family after the parents were detained — and ended up running a mutual aid network that has distributed several hundred thousand dollars in rent support, grocery delivery, and childcare coordination.

'She's just a mom with three little kids of her own trying to get through the day, who can't do anything else now because her conscience compels her.' That phrase — conscience compels — captures something essential about the episode. Rev. Crow is not describing heroism as an exceptional quality. She is describing it as the ordinary response of people who refuse to look away.

Her two constant prayers: 'God, you go first' — a reminder that she is not walking into any situation alone — and a song she hums in the car and sings with others before entering terrifying moments: 'You've got to put one foot in front of the other, and lead with love.'

Watch or Listen

Episode 234 is available now on YouTube and on all major podcast platforms. Follow Rochester Living on Instagram @rochesterlivingpod for clips and updates.