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Minister’s Musings
Greetings First Faithful:
This week I’d like to share with you a statement from our UCC President, Rev. Dr. Karen Georgia Thompson, in her response to the legislation condemning Episcopal Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde’s homily for the National Prayer Service, where she had asked for mercy from our newly inaugurated President towards the scared and vulnerable in our society. Bishop Budde was criticized vehemently for her obviously Christ-like message, and was told she should be deported by a Congressman, and had death threats from MAGA followers.
Mainline churches are under attack by “Christian Nationalism” and those who are part of, or support, the idolatrous Christo-fascism of the Trump Administration. We must make clear that we stand behind Christ, not those who use God’s name and Jesus’ name for their own political and financial ends. We cannot stand idly by while others pervert our faith tradition, and claim as “Christian” that which is in polar opposition to the teachings, virtues, values, and example of Christ Jesus. We stand in solidarity as Christians to uphold Jesus’ values, not those of any political administration that acts in opposition to those values.
Faith expressed freely:
Statement on congressional response to Bishop Budde’s sermon
published on Jan 31, 2025
In the wake of the House of Representatives drafting legislation condemning the message of Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde at the National Prayer Service, where she spoke directly to newly inaugurated President Donald Trump, the United Church of Christ General Minister and President Rev. Karen Georgia Thompson offers the following statement.
Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow. Isaiah 1:17
Preaching at the National Prayer Service, the Right Reverend Mariann Budde offered a sermon that was timely and prophetic following the inauguration of the 47th president. Her message offered a vision of hope and unity that is not easily lived and is needed now.
Unity is not partisan. Rather, unity is a way of being with one another that encompasses and respects 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.
Bishop Budde also warned about the normalization of a culture of contempt, of purposeful polarization manufactured to benefit a few while threatening to tear our country apart. The entirety of her message was lost in the response of the president of the United States, which focused on vilifying Bishop Budde’s appeal for mercy on the oppressed of our day. The prophetic plea was weaponized, and the message of unity presented went unheard.
Bishop Budde’s words and actions are consistent with many faith leaders over the centuries and today who have provided voice in the call for justice. The voice of faith leaders must be heard in the public square calling truth to power in all times. We commend the courage and wisdom of Bishop Budde and other faith leaders who bring a message of justice and hope for the oppressed.
The introduction of H. Res. 59 — “Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the sermon given by the Right Reverend Mariann Edgar Budde at the National Prayer Service on January 21st, 2025, at the National Cathedral was a display of political activism and condemning its distorted message” — is problematic as is the condemnation of the Bishop by the President. Our country’s rich history of religious freedom prohibits elected officials from dictating the message of religious communities, so their characterization of her sermon as “distorted” is deeply troubling.
Faith leaders must be able to speak freely from the convictions of their faith, uncensored by threats of political retribution, following in the prophetic tradition, calling for justice in their communities. People of all faiths must be able to express their faith without fear of government harassment, coercion, or duress.
As ministers of word and sacrament, we have a responsibility to seek justice for all. Our voices join with Bishop Budde and others defending the oppressed. This is a time to learn to do right, as the prophet Isaiah exhorts. The call for unity is before us. For the sake of the vulnerable with whom we are called to care and for the free expression of our faith, may we continue to center Jesus’ work and God’s vision for a just world for all.
Rev. Dr. Karen Georgia Thompson
General Minister and President / CEO
United Church of Christ
Rev. Thompson’s statement, along with Bishop Budde’s sermon, remind us of the need for unity amidst our diversity, but also refusing to have unity at the expense of truth and justice for all, as the entirety of our Biblical and faith tradition has always upheld.
In the week since this sermon, the current administration has taken many illegal and unconstitutional acts designed to undermine our democracy and establish unrivaled powers in the executive office, while also criminalizing those who dissent. This is an internal coup attempt on our nation’s governmental structures, and an exacerbating of the wide gulf between the powerful and the powerless, the rich and the poor. They are the kind of actions that instills power in the few and eliminates power for the many; not only antithetical to the intentions of our nation’s founders, but a direct repudiation of our own faith tradition’s emphasis on creating an egalitarian society and world which will become the kindom of heaven on earth – where no one dominates anyone, and where we all are regarded and treated as equals with one another.
As Christians, and as Americans, we must oppose these anti-democratic and oppressive policies and persons who are seeking to sabotage and dismantle the very values we cherish. May we be perseverant in this struggle to make a better, more equitable, world.
Blessings,
Rev. Bret S. Myers
2/4/2025
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