Episcopal Bishop Mariann Budde Enrages Donald Trump When She Asks him to “Have Mercy”

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Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde serves as spiritual leader for 86 Episcopal congregations and ten Episcopal schools in the District of Columbia and four Maryland counties.

The day after he was sworn in as President, Donald Trump attended the traditional church service at the Episcopal National Cathedral in Washington, D.C.

Trump didn’t like the sermon.

Bishop Mariann Budde, leader of the Episcopal Church in Washington, D.C., may have risked her life by angering Trump and some of his more violent supporters by beginning with a prayer for unity and ending with a message asking Trump to “have mercy.”

“I ask you to have mercy upon the people in our country who are scared now,” she said, in a calm, gentle voice. “There are gay, lesbian and transgender children in Democratic, Republican, and Independent families. Some who fear for their lives.”

Trump sat there in the front row and twisted his mouth to one side. He seemed frustrated that he had to listen to the sermon. He looked like a kid being scolded by a teacher, but he seemed to understand that he was stuck there in the front pew and had to listen with his mouth shut while Bishop Budde said all that she had to say. If he got up and walked out he would show that he was a coward—and if he attacked her verbally (or any other way) he would reveal himself as a bully—or worse.

Bishop Budde continued: “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 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, gurudwaras and temples. 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. May God grant us the strength and courage to honor the dignity of every human being, to speak the truth to one another in love, and walk humbly with each other and our God for the good of all people. Good of all people in this nation and the world.

“Amen.”

Here’s a link to the entire sermon on YouTube, which is a bit less than fifteen minutes long. The New York Times has a video of part of the sermon, that shows Trump and his family while they are listening. And here’s a link to a complete transcript of the sermon.

It’s worth watching the whole thing from the beginning. As I said, it’s less than fifteen minutes long. Most people who have learned about it from the news media have probably seen only parts of the last minute or so, that begins: “Let me make one final plea, Mr. President.”

But the whole sermon could have been addressed directly to Trump. It’s a plea for “unity that serves the common good.” and “for dignity, honesty, and humility that such unity requires, [to] realize the ideals and the dream of America.”

For reasons I can’t fully express, the sermon reminded me of the poem Barbara Frietchie, by John Greenleaf Whittier.