Rev. Jason Lydon Hands Off Protest Invocation

On Saturday, April 5th, amidst the chants and banners of an estimated 30,000 people, Rev. Jason Lydon stood before the crowd at the Hands Off protest and offered words that cut through the noise of political chaos with moral clarity and a fierce love.

“We are each gathered here for different reasons—and for the same reason. Our lives and the lives of those we love are under attack.”

With these opening words, RevJ acknowledged the complexity of our struggles and the shared urgency that unites us. As bombs fall and genocide unfolds in places like Palestine, Ukraine, Sudan, and Congo, he reminded us that global violence is intimately connected to the oppression we witness—and resist—at home.

“The politics of the White House are rooted in violence and suffering,” he declared, naming the wide-reaching attacks on immigrants, trans and queer people, workers, educators, abortion access, healthcare, and the planet itself. In the face of this, RevJ called the crowd to action, not despair.

“We will NOT be silent. We will raise our voices together!”

And we did.

Rooted in a deep lineage of justice seekers—“Liberation seekers like Chicago’s Fred Hampton. Justice dreamers like Anne Braden.”—RevJ invited everyone present to call on their own ancestors in struggle. The crowd echoed with shouted names, memories, and legacy.

This was more than a protest. It was a collective act of spiritual defiance. A moment of truth-telling, accountability, and sacred resistance.

“Resistance is a blessing,” RevJ reminded us. “Wherever there is repression, there will always be resistance.”

His closing words were a rallying cry that will stay with us:

“We will give life to struggles for collective liberation. We will lead. We will follow. And we will be side by side knowing, that when we fight—we win.”

In a time of deep injustice, RevJ’s words remind us that faith without action is empty—and that collective liberation is both a calling and a promise.