The Moderator thanks Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde for her “bold and prophetic” words

Bishop Mariann Budde (center) leads the Service of Prayer for the Nation at the Washington National Cathedral.
Credit: Justin Tsucalas/Washington National Cathedral

~ from a post published January 23, 2025 to The United Church of Canada’s website

“You are my new hero,” writes The Right Rev. Dr. Carmen Lansdowne to The Right Rev. Dr. Mariann Budde of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington this week. Bishop Budde’s address on Tuesday morning, January 21, to the newly inaugurated 47th president of the United States has launched a flurry of support and hate towards her, media interviews, and a call for an apology by President Trump himself.

“I can already see in today’s headlines the firestorm of reaction that is being hurled at you, and so I wanted to send you this love note to say that you are seen and loved,” writes the Moderator to the Bishop. “So many of us across this continent and the world are standing shoulder to shoulder with you to say, in love, “not in my name, and not in the name of our God.”

The Moderator thanked her for her courage, noting, “What you preached, and then speaking directly to the president, was bold and prophetic. And it was deeply rooted in our faith tradition.”

Download the letter here.