Before Trump was sworn in as president, he attended a Church Service at S.t. John’s Episcopal church across from the Whitehouse. In a moment that went viral, the pastor nagged the freshly sworn-in president to “have mercy” on immigrants and transgender children. In the months since, she has received over 20,000 letters expressing support for her actions.
“I cannot tell you how much it has meant to me to receive the letters, phone calls, notes, gifts and expressions of gratitude, support and encouragement,” Budde reacted.“I am persuaded that there is a spirit of love and goodness in this land that flows through all of us. And that now is a time for us to stand together, to take courage from one another, and learn together how we are to be brave now.”
She urged her supporters to “hold on to the things that are good about us and about our country,” and added that “we can do this, especially if we remember that we are never alone and that when one of us falters, there are hundreds of others that are standing strong.” She concluded by saying, “Together, God will work through us to bring about the kind of society, the kind of community that we all deserve and that we want to pass on to those who come after us.”
Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde said in her sermon “In the name of our God, I ask you to have mercy upon the people in our country who are scared now,” during her sermon at the National Cathedral. Trump and Vice President JD Vance watched unamused with their families. She added, “There are gay, lesbian, and transgender children in Democratic, Republican, and independent families, some who fear for their lives.”
She moved on to immigration: “Our God teaches us that we are to be merciful to the stranger, for we were all once strangers in this land.” When reporters asked Trump what he thought of the sermon, he responded “Was not too exciting, was it?” He added, “They could do much better.” While Trump remained stone-faced during the tirade, Vice President Vance can be seen wincing in embarrassment.
“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” the Bishop added.
“I am not going to apologize for asking for mercy for others.” The bishop said a few weeks after the sinighting incident. “I hope that a message calling for dignity, respecting dignity, honesty, humility, and kindness is resonating with people. I’m grateful for that,” added the ideologue. She said she was “saddened by the level of vitriol that it has evoked in others, and the intensity of it has been disheartening.”
“I’ve heard from many people who are grateful that someone was willing to speak on their behalf, and also others feeling emboldened to do the same, and I’m grateful for that,” she went on, shedding light on how “level of attack has been sobering and disheartening.” She went on to say she is “hoping to inspire others to push back against President Trump’s policies.”
“The real people who are in danger are those who are fearful of being deported. The real people who are in danger are the young people who feel they cannot be themselves and be safe and who are prone to all kinds of both external attacks and suicidal responses to them,” she claimed. “So I think we should keep our eyes on the people who are really vulnerable in our society.”