Sara Groves’ Borrowed Courage: Bearing Witness to ICE in Minnesota and the Gospel

Disappearing Neighbors, Upended Constitutional Norms, ans an Artist’s Response to ICE

Curtis Chang talks with singer-songwriter and Twin Cities resident Sara Groves about heightened ICE activity in Minneapolis–Saint Paul and why the consequences for families and neighborhoods persist after the headlines fade. Groves challenges claims that “protesters are paid agitators” or that “ICE targets only criminals,” naming the emotional and spiritual toll alongside concerns about due process and constitutional overreach. They discuss “borrowed courage,” the cost of public witness—even losing fans when refusing to defend the indefensible—and how Christians can resist dehumanization by loving neighbors and cultivating beauty amid fear and division.

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02:45 – Sara’s Eyewitness Account of ICE Activity

07:08 – Challenging Misconceptions and Narratives

10:18 – Refugees and Legal Overreach

13:48 – Has Their Been A Public Reaction to Sara’s Advocacy?

18:43 – Local Tragedies and Finding Borrowed Courage

23:44 – Why Do Some Stay Silent or Disengaged?

25:31 – Losing Fans and the Cost of Advocacy

35:41 – What Is the Artist’s Response?

43:42 – The Challenges For Sensitive Souls Engaging in Social Justice 

44:38 – A Message to Listeners Beyond Minnesota

Scriptures:

• Matthew 22:37-39 (ESV)
• Mark 12:29-31 (ESV)
• Isaiah 1:18 (ESV)
• Ephesians 6:10-18 (ESV)

Mentioned in This Episode:

• Video from Sara’s social media bearing witness to current event s in Minnesota
• Learn about the work of International Justice Mission
• MPR articles about the killing of Philando Castile
• MPR articles about the murder of George Floyd
• Two 17-year-old U.S. citizens detained at Target (local news video)
• Federal Court Blocks: “Operation PARRIS,” Orders Release of Detained Refugees
• More about Makoto Fujimura
• Kazuo Ishiguro’s The Buried Giant
• Flannery O’Connor’s Some Aspects of the Grotesque in Southern Fiction (read by O’Connor)
• Dorcas Thomson’s Social Justice for the Sensitive Soul
• Learn about the Art House North
• Sara Groves’ album What Makes It Through?
• Sara Groves’ song “Telltale Heart“
• Sara Groves’ song “Enough“
• Sara Groves’ song-in-progress “Normal Things Are Hard Right Now“
• Steven Galloway’s The Cellist of Sarajevo

Past Episodes Referenced in this Conversation:

• Good Faith ep. 215: David French: Dual State America and Authoritarianism – Renee Good and the Trump Administration
• Good Faith ep. 142: Finding God in the Small Things with Charlie Peacock & Andi Ashworth

More From Sara Groves:

• Sara Groves’ Patreon
• Sara Groves’ website

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The Good Faith Podcast is a production of a 501(c)(3) nonpartisan organization that does not engage in any political campaign activity to support or oppose any candidate for public office. Any views and opinions expressed by any guests on this program are solely those of the individuals and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of Good Faith.