President Donald Trump, first lady Melania Trump, Vice President JD Vance and Vance’s wife, Usha Vance, attend the Jan. 21 prayer service at Washington National Cathedral. Photo: Associated Press
[Episcopal News Service] Washington Bishop Mariann Budde, in her Jan. 21 sermon at Washington National Cathedral’s Service of Prayer for the Nation, called on all Americans to strive for a renewed unity based in honesty, humility and respect for human dignity – and she directed her final words to President Donald Trump, who was seated in the front row.
“Millions have put their trust in you,” Budde said to Trump, who was joined at the service by Vice President JD Vance and their spouses.
Budde then alluded to Trump’s speech the day before, at his Jan. 20 inauguration. Trump, who survived an assassination attempt during the 2024 presidential campaign, had said he felt “saved by God to make America great again.”
“In the name of our God,” Budde continued, “I ask you to have mercy upon the people in our country who are scared now.”
Some gay, lesbian and transgender Americans fear for their lives, Budde said, and a similar fear looms over hard-working immigrant families in communities across the country. “They may not be citizens or have the proper documentation, but the vast majority of immigrants are not criminals,” Budde said. “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 that 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.”
Budde’s sermon echoed the concerns stated by Presiding Bishop Sean Rowe and House of Deputies President Julia Ayala Harris in their Jan. 21 letter to the church, issued in response to Trump starting his second term with a barrage of executive orders, many of them targeting migrants, refugees and other immigrants. The orders signed by Trump included measures seeking to suspend the federal refugee resettlement program, declare a national emergency at the U.S-Mexico border, block an “invasion” of migrants into the United States, end the right to birthright citizenship that is guaranteed by the Constitution and resume a policy of making asylum-seekers wait in Mexico for their cases to be heard.
Other executive orders were related to the federal work force, the economy, energy policy and the environment, and they included some measures targeting transgender people. The government, under Trump, intends to recognize only two sexes, male and female, and he seeks to end protections for transgender inmates in federal prisons.
“We read this news with concern and urge our new president and congressional leaders to exercise mercy and compassion,” Rowe and Ayala Harris said in their letter, which focused primarily on immigration policy.
Before the inauguration, Trump started his day Jan. 20 by attending a worship service at another Episcopal church, St. John’s Church, Lafayette Square. It sometimes is referred to as “the church of the presidents” because of its location across the street from the White House.
Nearly four years ago, Trump drew widespread condemnation for posing with a Bible in front of St. John’s after ordering his security detail and law enforcement officers to forcibly push back protesters who had gathered outside the White House as part of an ongoing anti-racism demonstration a week after the killing of George Floyd.
At the time, Budde and other church leaders condemned the use of force and the photo-op, which they said ran counter to Christian teachings.
Budde’s sermon at Washington National Cathedral was not so pointed, though she again sought to underscore universal values shared by most world religions over the politics of hate and division.
“We have gathered this morning to pray for unity as a people and a nation,” she said, “not for agreement, political or otherwise, but for the kind of unity that fosters community across diversity and division, a unity that serves the common good. … It is not conformity. It is not victory. It is not polite weariness or passivity born of exhaustion. Unity is not partisan.
“Rather, unity is a way of being with one another that encompasses and respects our differences, that teaches us to hold multiple perspectives and life experiences as valid and worthy of respect, that enables us in our communities and in the halls of power to genuinely care for one another, even when we disagree.”
Plans for the service were announced in October, before Trump defeated Vice President Kamala Harris in November to win the presidency. The service was not open to the public because of security concerns, and the cathedral’s nave was only partially filled with the service’s invitees, who included House Speaker Mike Johnson and some of Trump’s cabinet nominees.
It was livestreamed and available as a video on the cathedral’s YouTube channel.
National Cathedral Dean Randy Hollerith also participated, along with the Rt. Rev. Ann Ritonia, The Episcopal Church’s bishop suffragan for armed forces and federal ministries.
“As we mark the transition of political leadership and begin a new chapter in the story of America, may these sacred texts, songs and petitions from the many faith traditions of our country inspire and challenge us to care for one another and live according to the highest ideals to which God has called us,” Hollerith said in his welcoming remarks. “Thank you for being here, and please know that we are a house of prayer for all people, and you are always welcome.”
The service also was joined by leaders from a diverse group of faith denominations, including Protestant, Mennonite, Mormon, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Sikh and Buddhist leaders. Participating musicians included the United States Marine Chamber Orchestra.
The cathedral previously had hosted 10 official inaugural prayer services for various presidents of both parties. Unlike in the past, this liturgy was not planned in conjunction with the Presidential Inaugural Committee, and rather than focusing on an individual, it was offered for the country at large.
Washington Bishop Mariann Budde preaches at the post-inauguration prayer service Jan. 21 at Washington National Cathedral. Photo: Associated Press
Striving for national unity may seem a daunting or even impossible challenge, Budde said, particularly in an era so polarized and made more so by “the outrage industrial complex, some of that driven by external forces whose interests are furthered by a polarized America.”
“We are not naive about the realities of politics, when power and wealth and competing interests are at stake, when views of what America should be are in conflict,” she said. “Perhaps we are most dangerous to ourselves and others when we are persuaded without a doubt that we are absolutely right and someone else is absolutely wrong, because then we are just a few steps from labeling ourselves as the good people versus the bad people.”
The truth, she said, is that Americans are just people, each with innate worth and dignity, as affirmed by the country’s Declaration of Independence. And for people of faith, hope and unity are possible.
“With God’s help, I believe that unity in this country is possible,” she said, “not perfectly, for we are imperfect people and an imperfect union, but sufficient enough to keep us all believing in and working to realize the ideals of the United States of America.”
– David Paulsen is a senior reporter and editor for Episcopal News Service based in Wisconsin. He can be reached at dpaulsen@episcopalchurch.org.