As an agenda of division and intolerance spread through Washington, D.C., following Donald Trump’s inauguration, one brave voice stood out in support of our minorities.
During the prayer service at the Washington National Cathedral, the bishop of Washington, Rt. Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde, stood in front of the Trump family and the new right-wing administration to plead for compassion for the country’s LGBTQ+ community and for immigrants.
“Let me make one final plea, Mr. President,” Budde began.
“Millions have put their trust in you, and as you told the nation yesterday, you have felt the providential hand of a loving God,” she said. “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.”
Her comment came after Trump declared in his inauguration speech that the Unites States government would now respect “only two genders” and after he signed two anti-trans executive orders—one to replace the use of the word gender on government documents with sex, recognizing only men and women, and the other to roll back diversity, equity, and inclusion programs across federal agencies.
The bishop went on, also standing up for immigrants amid Trump’s promise to begin mass deportations and his move to end birthright citizenship. She said: “And the people, 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, gurdwaras, and temples.”
Looking at Trump, she continued: “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 and persecution in their own lands to find compassion and welcome here.”
Budde said that it is “incumbent upon us to speak the truth” and called for “unity that incorporates diversity.” She said, “Our God teaches us that we are to be merciful to the stranger, for we were all once strangers in this land.”
Trump and his followers simply looked on.
