An Episcopal Church bishop who garnered international headlines for rebuking President Donald Trump in a sermon the day after his inauguration claims she’s received over 20,000 letters of support since then.
Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington recently posted a reel to her Facebook page thanking those who expressed their support of her amid the controversy.
“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 said.
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“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.”
Budde urged supporters to “hold on to the things that are good about us and about our country,” adding 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.”
“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,” she continued.
In addition to 20,000 letters of support, The Episcopal Church Executive Council also applauded Budde at their meeting last month, according to the Episcopal News Service.
In January, Budde delivered the sermon at the Washington National Cathedral’s Service of Prayer for the Nation, which Trump and his family attended the day after his inauguration and was seated in the front row.
Near the end of her homily, Budde directly addressed Trump, imploring him “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,” she stated.
The Right Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde takes a swipe @realDonaldTrump at the @WNCathedral service, says trans kids and families now “fear for their lives.” pic.twitter.com/yd9FRy8VSP
— Melissa Barnhart (@MelBarnhart) January 21, 2025
“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.”
Budde asked Trump “to have mercy” on people “in our communities whose children fear that their parents will be taken away and that you help those who are fleeing warzones and persecution in their own lands to find compassion and welcome here.”
The sermon garnered national attention, with supporters arguing that it was an example of prophetic witness, while others believed it was unnecessarily divisive and partisan.
Rob Pacienza, senior pastor at Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, was among the critics, saying in an earlier interview with The Christian Post that he believed it “wasn’t really a sermon” but rather “a lecture that really came across as mean and divisive.”
“I think the irony was she attempted to preach on unity, but her rhetoric and her very unwelcoming spirit — from the beginning to the end of her message — actually created more division in the end,” he said.
“She was advocating for transgenderism. She was advocating for open borders. She was advocating for lawlessness in America. She was advocating for an administration to embrace sexuality that is against God’s design.”
For his part, Trump demanded that Budde apologize for her comments, adding that he believed she was “a Radical Left hard line Trump hater” and was “nasty in tone, and not compelling or smart.”
“[Budde] failed to mention the large number of illegal migrants that came into our Country and killed people. Many were deposited from jails and mental institutions,” Trump wrote. “It is a giant crime wave that is taking place in the USA.”
