Lesa Scholl
1 February 2025
An Albert Park parish has thanked Washington Bishop Marian Budde for speaking in support of the marginalised during the recent inauguration prayer service for President Donald Trump.
Members of St Silas’ Albert Park together with locum vicar Bishop Philip Huggins prepared a poster with messages of support and forwarded it to Bishop Budde.
Bishop Budde’s sermon, in which she urged the president to have mercy on immigrants and the LGBTQI community, has sent ripples across the globe.
Her appeal for God to “grant us the strength and courage to honour the dignity of every human being” has been vilified by Trump supporters but celebrated by many Christians and advocates around the world.
Read more: What we can learn from the American church
St Silas’ parishioner Catherine Moore said she was angry at the negative responses to Bishop Budde’s humble request for the president to have mercy.
“The most upsetting thing was that he called her a ‘so-called bishop’…This woman was being attacked for following her calling,” she said.
Ms Moore wrote on the poster, “Have courage, God is with you.” Other congregants wrote: “Thank you for having the courage to speak truth to power” and “Thank you for speaking what people don’t want to hear.”
Bishop Huggins said he imagined Bishop Budde having a few sleepless nights as she prepared for the sermon. “She probably wished she’d taken a job as chaplain at Disneyland!” he said.
Read more: The ‘transforming truth’ in a stifling secular society
Bishop Huggins noted that Bishop Budde was calm and quiet as she encouraged the president to be kind to people feeling anxious. He said this was the uncomfortable responsibility of the church.
On a lighter note, he wrote to Bishop Budde that the St Silas’ parish was currently vacant and said, “If you want a bit of respite from what you’re in the middle of, come on over!”
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