Baldwin Town Hall Helped People Vision a Better World

Writer: Sr. Catherine Ferguson, SNJM 

Nuns on the Bus & Friends continues to roll along, and on Wednesday evening, we were welcomed for our Town Hall at the First Presbyterian Church of Baldwin, NY by Pastor Russ Roth in his clergy tartan and our partners at SEIU. The table they provided allowed us the opportunity to register people to vote and encourage participants to make voting plans. 

Picture a traditional church building where, along the front of the sanctuary, six panels depict a world deprived on NETWORK’s six freedoms. 

A crowd of about 150 people sat in the pews, some of them the Sisters of St. Joseph of Brentwood who hosted our rally earlier that day. They had the same energy and commitment as larger groups, chanting our town hall mantra: Vote so “everyone can thrive, no exceptions!” 

As the event progressed, audience members told us about their issues. They listened to six of our bus riders illuminate the freedoms that form NETWORK’s Equally Sacred Checklist and utilize stories of their experiences of pro-democracy advocacy in Wisconsin, violence on the border near El Paso, and why it doesn’t make sense for hunters (or anyone else) to use assault weapons. The freedom from harm resonated with the folks from Baldwin, many of whom are acting to stem gun violence and all kinds of violence on the street and in the schools. 

One participant visioned: If we were free from harm, I could get on the subway day or night and feel perfectly safe.

Another connected with the freedom to be healthy: I would get all the health care I need and have no worries about paying high prices for it.

At the end of the town hall, everyone was invited to go and sign the bus. As usually happens, folks eagerly reached for the markers we provide. The surface is getting fuller and fuller of signatures, good wishes, and hopes. We love it!

This reflection is from the 2024 Nuns on the Bus & Friends bus rider blog.