Submission declined on 24 July 2026 by ArthurTheGardener (talk). This draft's references do not show that the person meets Wikipedia's criteria for inclusion for people. The draft requires multiple published secondary sources that: provide significant coverage: discuss the person in detail, not brief mentions or interviews lacking independent analysis; are reliable: from reputable outlets with editorial oversight; are independent: not connected to the person, such as interviews, press releases, the subject's own website, or sponsored content. Please add references that meet all three of these criteria. If none exist, the subject is not yet suitable for Wikipedia. If you would like to continue working on the submission, click on the "Edit" tab at the top of the window. If you have not resolved the issues listed above, your draft will be declined again and potentially deleted. If you need extra help, please ask us a question at the AfC Help Desk or get live help from experienced editors. Please do not remove reviewer comments or this notice until the submission is accepted. Where to get help If you need help editing or submitting your draft, please ask us a question at the AfC Help Desk or get live help from experienced editors. These venues are only for help with editing and the submission process, not to get reviews. If you need feedback on your draft, or if the review is taking a lot of time, you can try asking for help on the talk page of a relevant WikiProject. Some WikiProjects are more active than others so a speedy reply is not guaranteed. How to improve a draft Wikipedia:Contributing to Wikipedia – a basic overview on how to edit Wikipedia. Help:Wikitext – how to use the markup Help:Referencing for beginners – how to include references Wikipedia:Article development – how to develop your article Wikipedia:Writing better articles – how to improve your article Wikipedia:Verifiability – make sure your article includes reliable third-party sources You can also browse Wikipedia:Featured articles and Wikipedia:Good articles to find examples of Wikipedia's best writing on topics similar to your proposed article. Improving your odds of a speedy review To improve your odds of a faster review, tag your draft with relevant WikiProject tags using the button below. This will let reviewers know a new draft has been submitted in their area of interest. For instance, if you wrote about a female astronomer, you would want to add the Biography, Astronomy, and Women scientists tags. Add tags to your draft Editor resources Easy tools: Citation bot (help) | Advanced: Fix bare URLs Declined by ArthurTheGardener 22 days ago. Last edited by ArthurTheGardener 22 days ago. Reviewer: Inform author. Resubmit Please note that if the issues are not fixed, the draft will be declined again.

• Comment: The article needs to be checked and WP:Peacock terms removed. Most citations seem to refer to one event only: all statements need citations. ArthurTheGardener (talk) 18:52, 24 July 2026 (UTC)

• Comment: In accordance with Wikipedia's Conflict of interest guideline, I disclose that I have a conflict of interest regarding the subject of this article. Kleets712 (talk) 20:10, 9 June 2026 (UTC)

Michael Woolf
Education	Harvard Divinity School (Th.D.)
Occupations	Minister, theologian, activist
Known for	Immigration activism, 2025 Broadview ICE facility protest
Title	Rev. Dr.

Michael Woolf is an American Baptist minister, theologian, and social activist. He serves as the senior minister of Lake Street Church in Evanston, Illinois, and is a prominent figure in the New Sanctuary Movement. Woolf gained national media attention in late 2025 following his high-profile arrest during an immigration enforcement protest, an event captured in a widely circulated news photograph.

Woolf attended Harvard Divinity School, where he earned a Doctor of Theology (Th.D.) in 2021. His academic work focuses on the intersection of Christian theology, ethics, and political resistance. He is the author of Sanctuary and Subjectivity: Thinking Theologically About Whiteness in Sanctuary Movements (published by T&T Clark), which examines the theological foundations of the modern sanctuary movement.^[1] In January 2026, Woolf co-authored Confronting Islamophobia in the Church: Liturgical Tools for Justice with his spouse Anna Piela. Published by Judson Press, the book challenges anti-Muslim prejudice within Christian congregations and offers practical liturgical tools for interfaith solidarity.^[2]

On November 14, 2025, Woolf was among nearly two dozen faith leaders arrested by Illinois State Police during a non-violent protest outside an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) processing facility in Broadview, Illinois. The demonstration was organized by a coalition of religious leaders opposing federal immigration enforcement actions as part of Operation Midway Blitz. During the arrest, Reuters photojournalist Jim Vondruska captured an image of Woolf in his clerical collar being pinned to the ground by law enforcement officers.^[3] The photograph was widely syndicated nationally and was later selected by The Atlantic^[4] and Time Magazine^[5] as one of its top photographs of 2025, symbolizing faith-based resistance to federal immigration policies.

The broad national distribution of the arrest photograph propelled Woolf into a wider public role within the faith-based movement opposing ICE enforcement. In March 2026, the Religion News Service published an in-depth profile detailing his ministry, his approach to what he terms "sanctuary values," and the national impact of his activism^[6]. Woolf frequently lectures and preaches on the role of religious communities fighting authoritarianism and Islamophobia.