Seeing Bishop Mariann Budde standing up to Donald Trump and his cronies at a church service held in his honor was a much needed reprieve from all the conservative malarky since the presidential inauguration.
Bishop Mariann Budde made headlines and went viral all over the internet last week after giving a critical and necessary inaugural sermon addressing Donald Trump’s bigotry head on. During her sermon, Budde said “Let me make one final plea, Mr. President. I ask you to have mercy upon the people in our country who are scared now. There are gay, lesbian, and transgender children in Democratic, Republican and independent families, some who fear for their lives.”
She continued: “The people who pick our crops, and clean our office buildings, who labor in poultry farms and meatpacking plants, who wash the dishes after we eat in restaurants and work the night shifts in hospitals, they may not be citizens or have the proper documentation, but the vast majority of immigrants are not criminals. They pay taxes and are good neighbors, they are faithful members of our churches and mosques, synagogues, vadara, and temples. I ask you to have mercy on those in our communities whose children fear that their parents will be taken away and that you help those that are fleeing war zones and persecution in their own lands to find compassion and welcome here. Our God teaches us that we are to be merciful to the stranger.”
According to AP News, Budde, an Episcopal bishop in Washington, D.C. was referring to executive orders that Trump has already administered in his first week in office, rolling back transgender rights and threatening mass deportation. Across the country, ICE has already invaded schools, office buildings, and hospitals.
During the sermon, Trump sat blank-faced and blinking while JD Vance attempted to share resentful looks with his wife who does not respond to his bids. Budde’s sermon has shown more courage than any politician has in years. At age 65, she is the first woman to lead the Episcopal Diocese of Washington, a position she was appointed to in 2011. Currently she oversees 86 churches across the D.C. area and Maryland, according to AP.
The Episcopal Church stood behind Budde’s sermon with spokespeople calling her “a valued and trusted pastor.” The broader church says they support her appeal for the Christian values of mercy and compassion.
Budde, who grew up in New Jersey and Colorado has shown support for the LGBTQ+ community, serving as the bishop who interred the ashes of hate crime victim Matthew Shepard following his death, according to reports from Pink News. She is also no stranger to calling out Trump, having claimed she was outraged by Trump’s staged appearance at St. John’s Episcopal Church where he held up a Bible for a photo op after he threatened to unleash military violence on peaceful protestors.
