Sara Groves' Borrowed Courage: Bearing Witness to ICE in Minnesota and the Gospel
Good Faith
Losing Fans and the Cost of Advocacy
Sara describes losing listeners, long-term justice work with IJM, and navigating criticism as an artist-advocate.
Disappearing Neighbors, Upended Constitutional Norms, and 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—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 There 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:
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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.
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