All three scripture readers were close allies of the new Trump administration. Jack Graham, a Texas megachurch pastor and Trump advisor, read from Proverbs 3. Henry Stephan, a Catholic priest and mentor who baptized JD Vance, read 1 Peter 4. And Alveda C. King, niece of Martin Luther King Jr. and a Republican activist and politician, read from Galatians 3.
In addition to the scriptures, the church sang three hymns: “O God, our help in ages past,” “My country, ’tis of thee,” and “America the Beautiful.” All three selections are from The Episcopal Church’s hymnal.
Two of those three are not classic Christian hymns, but rather patriotic songs. Still, the pastor knew that the U.S. Park Police in June, 2020 delivered a volley of tear gas to clear the area between Lafayette Square and your church so the then-President, hostile toward Christianity, gets to hold a photo-op in front of your church without your knowledge. Five years later, that man, remaining pleased that non-violent protesters were squashed became President again and promptly signed an Executive Order to invalidate the 14th Amendment. Three days late, the federal judge considering the request for a restraining order recognizes the request is "blatantly unconstitutional" and notes "I have been on the bench for over four decades. I can't remember another case where the question presented was as clear."
The bishop then assumed the role of delivering a sermon to that individual, who is openly contemptuous of Christianity If she had kept silent upon something which bears so heavily on her conscience and on the direction of the nation, it would have been an opportunity wasted, malpractice either in her role as a member of the clergy or simply as a concerned citizen.
Afterward, Bishop Budde stated "I wanted to emphasize respecting the honor and dignity of every human being. I was trying to counter the narrative that is so divisive and polarizing and in which real people are being harmed." That narrative is being driven by the President, who has initiated, promulgated, and led a movement intended to be divisive and polarizing. The Washington National Cathedral on Tuesday was the right time and the right place to call out the demagogue behind it all.
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