David Black is pastor of The First Presbyterian Church of Chicago.
Posts By This Author
‘All Bullies Are Frightened Children’
11-20-2025
A pastor’s reflections after being shot at by ICE agents.
A masked federal agent pepper sprays Rev. David Black, pastor of The First Presbyterian Church of Chicago, in the face during protests outside the ICE processing facility in Broadview, Ill. on Sept. 19, 2025. / Ashlee Rezin / Chicago Sun-Times / Chicago History Museum
I WAS NEVER the smartest seminarian, but I read my Bible every day. I feel rooted in the scriptures and formed by what I see Jesus teaching us and how he’s calling us to imitate him. I was moved in that moment to pray in the verbatim words of Jesus, to warn the ICE officers who were standing on the roof about the spiritual consequences of their actions in language that was not just me—[it] was an echo of scriptural prophetic language talking about how generations after them would view their actions and calling them to repent.