Episcopal bishop who bravely asked Trump to have mercy on migrants is an American hero

I am part of the 92% of Black women who voted for former Vice President Kamala Harris and are fed up with marching.

But don’t be confused. In the words of the late great gospel singer the Rev. James Cleveland, “I Don’t Feel No Ways Tired.” I have no intention of spending the next four years merely watching as President Donald Trump and his followers turn back the clock on this country.

I don’t know what all my efforts will entail, but it will be something. It is going to take each of us — elected officials, business owners, academics, and everyone else — doing what we can, each in our own way, to push back against the sweeping changes Trump has proposed in his misguided effort to supposedly make America great again.

An excellent example of someone who has already done that is a gutsy Episcopal bishop on Tuesday. During the national prayer service at the Washington National Cathedral, the Rev. Mariann Budde did what billionaire sycophants surrounding Trump wouldn’t dare. She looked him in the eye and tried to tap into his humanity as she implored: “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 sermon was a powerful, not to mention memorable, moment.

She went on to mention the farmworkers, office cleaners, and other menial employees who also live in terror of deportation, and pointed out that they “may not be citizens or have the proper documentation, but the vast majority of immigrants are not criminals.”

During his inauguration speech on Monday, Trump announced that “we will begin the process of returning millions and millions of criminal aliens back to the places in which they came.” In one of his first acts as president, Trump signed a slew of executive orders, including one aiming to end birthright citizenship — a right enshrined in the 14th Amendment of the Constitution — for children born in America of undocumented immigrant parents.

“I ask you to have mercy, Mr. President, on those in our communities whose children fear that their parents will be taken away,” Budde said.

It had to have been uncomfortable for the president, who was seated in the first row next to first lady Melania Trump, who reportedly immigrated to America on a tourist visa in the 1990s. For the most part, though, Trump kept his expression blank.

But judging from the wrinkled brow of Vice President JD Vance, Budde’s message had personal resonance for more than just the president. (His wife, Usha, is the daughter of immigrant parents.)

The sermon was a powerful, not to mention memorable, moment. It reminded me of the simple sermons I grew up hearing on Sundays in a Catholic church not too far away from where Budde’s sermon took place.

While attending St. Anthony Catholic School in the Brookland section of Washington, D.C., I was taught that Christianity isn’t just reading the Bible and going to Mass. It’s also putting faith into action the way Budde, the first female leader of the Episcopal church in D.C., bravely did in front of the world’s most powerful leader.

Most of us will never get an opportunity to address him the way she did, but there are things we can each do.

We can start by remembering that Congress exists to serve the will of the people — not the executive branch of government. We can lean on our elected officials and remind them that MAGA capitulation can lead to their replacement. We can organize with like-minded resisters through our churches, fraternal and social organizations, and nonprofits, and use our collective force to make our voices heard through the courts. We are not powerless. Far from it.

We can start by remembering that Congress exists to serve the will of the people — not the executive branch of government.

Budde set a powerful example on Tuesday. She risked a lot by speaking out the way she did. Later that same day, Rep. Mike Collins (R., Ga.) tweeted a clip of her speech and wrote, “The person giving this sermon should be added to the deportation list.”

Trump wants an apology and posted on Truth Social Wednesday: “She brought her church into the World of politics in a very ungracious way. She was nasty in tone, and not compelling or smart.”

Resistance won’t be easy. It’s going to take courage to push back against all that is headed our way. As well as a whole lot of people like Budde who are willing to stand up in the face of power and speak the truth.