What's Happening

April 8, 2026, Adrian, Michigan – Several Adrian Dominican Sisters and Associates were among an estimated 8 million people who participated in more than 3,000 No Kings rallies across the United States and around the world.

The No Kings rallies – held three times since the inauguration of President Donald Trump – have been organized by a coalition of grassroots organizations to give participants the opportunity to stand up peacefully in favor of democracy and against policies and actions that undermine it and could lead the United States into a monarchy or dictatorship.

Several of the Adrian Dominican participants of the March 28 No Kings rally took time to reflect on the experience.

Sister Kathleen Schanz, OP, participated in one in St. Paul-Minneapolis, Minnesota, at the site of the fatal shootings of Renee Nicole Good, 37, and Alex Pretti, 37, by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in January 2026. Sister Kathleen marveled at the size of the rally, which drew about 200,000 people. “I was deeply moved as I witnessed and participated in this event with this city and its people, who have experienced so much violence over these last months,” she said. “Inspiring!”

Associate Connie Brady attended a rally in Felton, California, and described the No Kings events as “a path to show up and speak out, with my community, in a nonviolent expression of opposition to oligarchy. The issues are too important to remain silent.”

Connie also sees the rally she attended as an “experience of hope. Hope that grassroots strategic actions will shape political outcomes and protect free and fair elections. Hope that we can elect public officials who respect human and climate rights and will enact structural reforms to protect them.”

Connie also found hope from a young mother who stood beside her and explained her own reasons for attending the rally. “We’re here because everyone has a right to be free and say the things they believe,” Connie recalled the young woman saying. “See everyone here and think about all the other people in the world. They deserve to be safe and happy and have a nice warm bed at night just like us.”

Associate Sharon Pikula stood up for her beliefs during the No Kings rally in Olympia, Washington. Along with members of the International Dances for Peace organization and with others at the rally, she expressed her beliefs through dance, voice, and movements on the Capitol lawn.

“It was delightful as well as purposeful,” said Sharon, who frequently joins the local group as they share simple songs of peace from “a wide variety of religions, spiritualities, and cultures.” She spoke of the “great energy and hope” that arises when a group of people “join their voices and hands together.”

Sharon was especially struck by the words of Circle Round for Freedom by Linda Hirschhorn: “Circle round for freedom, circle round for peace, for all of us imprisoned, circle for release. Circle for the planet, circle for each soul, for the children of our children keep the circle whole.” At the words “circle for release,” Sharon said she “prayed for those in immigrant detention centers, those imprisoned by war and prisons created by our families and societies and, yes, our own doing.”

Sharon sees the need to add music and movement “to move us ever so slowly down the path of oneness and see the light of Christ in all. I could easily imagine St. Dominic joining our circle as a way of broadening out his nine forms of prayer. He would be right with us.”

At her rally in Florida, Sister Rosemary Finnegan, OP, was impressed by a young woman, mother, and artist she and her fellow parishioner, Meghan, met during the rally. The woman had traveled to Ukraine and studied art in Russia. “This is her first rally and she participated because she wants a better world for her 2- and 4-year-olds.” 

“This encounter is an example of the community spirit and camaraderie that existed in all the rallies I attended,” Sister Rosemary said. “They have one purpose, however, and that is to change this regime and establish order and freedom once again.”

Associate Noraleen Renauer, who attended the rally in Ann Arbor, Michigan, said she participated because “I wanted to be counted. Walking into the crowd (with cane), I found everyone there: Millennials, Boomers, Gen. Z, and children.” Noraleen said the atmosphere of the rally was one of peace and camaraderie. “We were ‘everyday’ Americans, gathered to stand for democracy and the Constitution; This was why we were marching. I thought to myself, ‘This is the Body of Christ,’ as tears welled up in me.”

Noraleen noted that, 24 hours later, she was in another march: the Palm Sunday procession. “In each instance, I saw the American culture of individualism being transformed into the Beloved Community,” she said.

Numerous Adrian Dominican Sisters, Associates, and Co-workers gathered at the No Kings Rally in Comstock Park, Adrian. Sister Theresa Mayrand, OP, perhaps captures what many of them experienced. “I was impressed with the peacefulness at the rally – the smiles, the friendliness of those who participated,” Sister Theresa said. “It was cold, yet people came to show their conviction of the importance of democracy and their resistance to the chiseling away of human rights. They came to stand up for immigrants and for liberty.”

 

Feature photo at top: From left, Sisters Joyce Caulfield, OP, Corinne Florek, OP, Rosemary Abramovich, OP, Kitty Bethea, OP, and Beverly Stark, OP, participate in the No Kings rally in Comstock Park, Adrian. Photo submitted by Sister Sharon Spanbauer, OP

March 24, 2026, Adrian, Michigan – All are invited to learn about Detroit’s historic Black Bottom neighborhood and Paradise Valley business district during a special presentation at 6:00 p.m. Thursday, April 9, 2026, in the Weber Center Auditorium.

Marcia Black, Co-director of Archives and Education for the Black Bottom Archives, shares the story of the people who lived, worked, and built their lives in this district east of downtown Detroit in the 1920s and 1930s. At its high point in 1942, the district was home to more than 300 businesses owned by Blacks, including bars and restaurants, pharmacies, hotels, and doctor’s offices. Black Bottom and Paradise Valley were razed in the 1950s and early 1960s and replaced by high-rise apartment buildings for middle-class, predominantly white families.

“I hope people will learn new things about Detroit,” said Mykayla Giles, Director of Justice, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for the Adrian Dominican Sisters. Her office is sponsoring the event. “I appreciate some of the rich history that the Black Bottom District brought to what is now Detroit,” Mykayla said. “They thrived there. They kept the Black dollar within their community.”

Black Bottom Archives was founded in 2015 to research the history of Black Bottom and Paradise Valley and the lives of the people who resided and worked there. The organization offers pop-up displays of Black Bottom and has partnered with museums such as the Michigan Historical Center and the Charles Wright Museum of African American History.

The presentation is open to all, and registration is not required. Weber Center is on the campus of the Adrian Dominican Sisters Motherhouse, Adrian, Michigan. On East Siena Heights Drive, turn into the driveway between Adrian Rea Literacy Center and the solar panel-covered carport. Follow the signs to Weber Center. For information, contact Mykayla at 517-266-3542.