About 280 people from Woodbury and surrounding areas gathered Saturday evening for a candlelight vigil honoring Alex Pretti, who was shot and killed by federal agents in south Minneapolis earlier that day.

After learning about Pretti’s death, individuals who have been organizing demonstrations and other anti-ICE activities in Woodbury wanted to provide a setting where people in South Washington County could remember the 37-year-old ICU nurse and process the personal impact of another killing.

Pastors Kelly Lamon, Laura Hannah and Jeremy Peters not only agreed to open The Grove United Methodist Church, Woodbury’s oldest church, to the group but also provided leadership for a service that respected all faith traditions. The service included both solo and congregational singing, breathing meditation, a time for open sharing, poetry and a ceremony in which those assembled shared light from their candles.

Rep. Ethan Cha, from District 47B on the west side of Woodbury, shared that, as a refugee and a naturalized citizen, he is scared by the presence of ICE in Minnesota and unsure what would happen if he were stopped by federal agents.

Peters talked about how the “magic rectangles” in our pockets that connect us to so much information, as well as doomscrolling, don’t replace the human connections found in person at a community vigil.

More connections were made after the vigil when church members offered cookies and beverages in the gathering space, and participants talked with each other before heading out into the frigid night.