One of the traditions surrounding the Presidential inauguration is a prayer service at the National Cathedral, located in Washington DC. For many years, the National Cathedral has been an embarrassment to American Christianity, representing a haven of liberalism associated with the Episcopal Church. Of the ten listed clergy representing the so-called church, six are women.
Unsurprisingly, in an inaugural week that has been filled with Christian themes, from the music played in the moments before the inaugural ceremony to Trump’s assertion that he was spared by God to “make America great again,” and even prayers of varying degrees of both cringe and based-ness, the National Cathedral decided to use its ceremonial platform to lecture the President of the United States.
Leading the service was Mariann Edgar Budde who proceeded to utter the following screed against Trump:
Transcript:
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. And the people who pick our crops and clean our office buildings, who labor at 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 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 will all want 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. Good of all people in this nation. And the world.
The statement was filled with universalist notions regarding other religions while pleading with the president to violate his promises to the American people who overwhelmingly elected him to implement mass deportations regardless of the costs or social impact. Moreover, it is antithetical for Christians to petition on behalf of the gay community for they are a blight and abomination in the eyes of a thrice holy God. The progressive platitudes are exactly what one would expect from a liberal church.
The reaction to the so-called bishop has been resoundingly positive. The apathetic boredom of both JD Vance and Donald Trump paints the perfect image of how detestable this woman is to the American people. Moreover, it provides perfect ammunition to attack proponents of women’s ordination by providing a textbook example of its fruits to a wide audience. Even the unbelievers can sense something wrong with that woman.
In response, Trump denounced the woman via Truth Social:
The so-called Bishop who spoke at the National Prayer Service on Tuesday morning was a Radical Left hard line Trump hater. She brought her church into the World of politics in a very ungracious way. She was nasty in tone, and not compelling or smart. She failed to mention the large number of illegal migrants that came into our Country and killed people. Many were deposited from jails and mental institutions. It is a giant crime wave that is taking place in the USA. Apart from her inappropriate statements, the service was a very boring and uninspiring one. She is not very good at her job! She and her church owe the public an apology!
In Trumpian fashion, he derided her for being “nasty,” unintelligent, and terrible, but proceeded to pivot towards the issue of immigration and her impious indifference towards the victims of immigrant crime.
While some might deride the president for attending this abominable service, his presence and her actions highlighted the perversity of women’s ordination. Now is the time to reinvigorate the fight against this pressing issue within the church. Without a doubt, women’s ordination was the biggest issue of 2024 with denominations like the PCA prevailing over the feminists while the Southern Baptist Convention failed to ratify the Law Amendment. Other denominations, having caved on this issue long ago, are beyond saving—contrary to the Reconquista movement.
Women’s Ordination is a sin, but in regards to the fall of an individual denomination, it is not the camel’s nose seeping into the tent, but rather its hump—and that camel is in heat. In other words, it is an accelerant to collapse. Look no further than the National Cathedral with its boomer women masquerading as clergy. Even in raw numbers, mainline churches are not thriving but like their members, they are dying off. In the years to come, this issue will have collapsed many mainline churches, but that does not mean there will not be damage in the meantime that must be fought against.
One Response
He should find a way to take the national cathedral from the Episcofailian denomination or force them to appoint a Trumpian male bishop or lose the building. Put the lawyers to work on it. Or declare it can no longer be called “national cathedral.”