Learning to be Brave with Bishop Budde

 

Do you remember Bishop Mariann Budde? At the January 2025 worship service in the Washington National Cathedral as part of President Trump's inauguration Bishop Budde created the most Christian of stirs in her sermon. 

Here are some excerpts from the conclusion of her message to jog your memory: 

Let me make one final plea, Mr. President. Millions have put their trust in you. And as you told the nation yesterday, you have felt the providential hand of a loving God. In the name of our God, 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.

"The people who pick our crops and clean our office buildings; who labor in poultry farms and meat packing plants; who wash the dishes after we eat in restaurants and work the night shifts in hospitals, they – 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. 

I ask you to have mercy, Mr. President, on those in our communities whose children fear that their parents will be taken away. And that you help those who 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, for we were all once strangers in this land. 

It will come as no surprise that Trump publicly panned this invitation to be merciful and he certainly hasn't been during these past 18 months which feel like 18 years of cruelty and terror. At the time one Republican Flying Monkey suggested that Budde be deported. 

 I think the theme of the upcoming webinar with Bishop Budde offered through Sojourners Magazine is perfect: Learning to be brave. We hear that ICE is stepping up its evil deportation program and innocent people are being killed. It feels as though bravery is being trumped by organized hatred.

I have preregistered for the webinar and I look forward to what Bishop Budde has to offer.