« Episcopal Bishop, Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde, publicly called out Trump to his face today at a service at the National Cathedral in Washington, DC. This was some next level Jesus-style calling out the powerful that you rarely see exampled anymore.
“Let me make one final plea, Mr. President. Millions have put their trust in you, and as you told the nation yesterday, you have felt the providential hand of a loving God. 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. 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, gurdwara, and temples.
I ask you to have mercy, Mr. President, on those in our communities whose children fear their parents will be taken away, and that you help those who are fleeing war zones and persecution in their own lands to find compassion and welcome here. Our God teaches us that we are to be merciful to the stranger, for we were all once strangers in this land. May God grant us the strength and courage to honor the dignity of every human being, to speak the truth to one another in love, and walk humbly with each other and our God, for the good of all people, the good of all people in this nation and the world. Amen.”
« The work of resistance isn’t about just changing the minds of the powerful, but making it more difficult for them to wield that power. No, this probably won’t be a wake-up call for Trump. But what if it is for someone else? This is the slow work of resistance; it doesn’t change things overnight. It’s a long journey, a tireless and thankless one.
It’s still important.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer didn’t change the leader of his country either but empowered other voices to rise up, folks to take action, and hearts to change. That doesn’t happen in a moment but over a collection of moments. That is how change comes. » Text/Reflection by Nathan Monk. Image by Tiriel
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