I was able to watch a replay of the entire service on C-SPAN Sunday. I hope others look it up. Viewers will find that clergy from a broad range of faiths spoke and shared readings from their respective traditions. So for a long while before Bishop Budde spoke and specifically addressed the president, one religious leader after another called for protection of the vulnerable, dignity for all and justice. There were also calls for support for first responders and for wisdom among decision makers in government. In other words, it was an ecumenical circle asking those who govern to do their moral best with assistance from divine. Bishop Budde was the only one to single out the president, but she was one of several who seemed to be speaking from the same point of view. Her sermon was longer than any other speaker's individual remarks, but perhaps not much longer than the sum of the other commentaries. Lots of eyes are on the administration and its actions.
Thanks, Jo-Ann. I think we were all taken by the directness of Bishop Budde's remarks, as you note, but it helps to put them in context, which you've done by exploring what else was said during the prayer service. It's her cathedral, so I guess she gets to speak as long as she wants! Astonishing, isn't it, how so many people who claim the mantle of religiosity don't stand up for her scripture-based truth-telling?
Walter McMillian was an ordinary guy who worked hard at his job. He carried his own weight and was loved and respected by his friends and family. He was born at the wrong time in the wrong place.
On November 1, 1986, eighteen year old Ronda Morrison was found dead on the floor of Monroe Cleaners where she worked. This happened in Monroeville, Alabama. The community was rightly upset. Someone had to pay. There were few leads to follow and no witnesses. The district attorney was under a lot of pressure. He needed someone to blame. And that is how Walter McMillian found himself on death row. Almost a dozen people were with Walter the day of the murder far from the scene of the crime. That did not seem to matter.
Bryan Stevenson is a special sort of person. At the age of twenty he was faced with an immense predicament. He knew that we have a serious problem in this country. He wished things were different. When a good man sees something wrong he knows he must act. As Johann Wolfgang Goethe once said, “Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Willing is not enough; we must do.”
Just Mercy is Bryan Stevenson’s inspiring story of how he found himself nearing graduation from college and had not yet figured out his purpose in life. He went to law school, as he tells it, because they “didn’t require you to know anything.” It was there that one of his first courses of study required him to spend a month doing social justice work. In December, 1983, he found himself in Atlanta working with the Southern Prisoners Defense Committee (SPDC).
Stevenson takes us with him into the Deep South where he ventures into prison to meet those who have been condemned to death. We meet interesting people who have been unfairly convicted with little or no legal representation. Bryan gives them something many of them had lost. He gives them hope. As he spends time in their company he is awakened to the fact that, as he puts it – each of us more than the worst thing we’ve ever done.
Bryan Stevenson knows firsthand what it is like to be black in America. He provides a detailed account of being confronted by the police for no good reason. He immediately thinks about how a black teenager might react is such a situation. He knows, but knowing is not enough. So he arranges to speak at local churches about how to act to when confronted by the police. He then goes on to talk about what we can do to make our communities safer.
Listen to Bryan Stevenson’s TED Talk. That is where I discovered him ten years ago. Then ask your librarian to get you a copy of this book. It will do your heart good.
If the President succeeds in violating the 14th Amendment it would he could revoke the citizenship of anyone, including the Right Reverend Mariann Budde.
My greatest hope is that others may be inspired by the Bishop's words and do likewise.
It’s time to do; time for action. Words are important…but only as prelude to action.
I was able to watch a replay of the entire service on C-SPAN Sunday. I hope others look it up. Viewers will find that clergy from a broad range of faiths spoke and shared readings from their respective traditions. So for a long while before Bishop Budde spoke and specifically addressed the president, one religious leader after another called for protection of the vulnerable, dignity for all and justice. There were also calls for support for first responders and for wisdom among decision makers in government. In other words, it was an ecumenical circle asking those who govern to do their moral best with assistance from divine. Bishop Budde was the only one to single out the president, but she was one of several who seemed to be speaking from the same point of view. Her sermon was longer than any other speaker's individual remarks, but perhaps not much longer than the sum of the other commentaries. Lots of eyes are on the administration and its actions.
Thanks, Jo-Ann. I think we were all taken by the directness of Bishop Budde's remarks, as you note, but it helps to put them in context, which you've done by exploring what else was said during the prayer service. It's her cathedral, so I guess she gets to speak as long as she wants! Astonishing, isn't it, how so many people who claim the mantle of religiosity don't stand up for her scripture-based truth-telling?
“the task that should be his as our own”: Ask not what your country can do for you, but ask what you can do for your country.
The next several years call upon us to set aside all selfishness, and reach out to others as much as we can.
One can only hope that others follow suit like the Bishop and bravely confront Trump whose cruelty is unfathomable.
The irony is that Trump saved his mercy for the 1500 he pardoned, and who now freely roam America.
I appreciate the reference to Just Mercy.
A couple of years ago I wrote about that book.
Just Mercy – A story of justice and redemption
by Bryan Stevenson Penguin Random House 2014
Walter McMillian was an ordinary guy who worked hard at his job. He carried his own weight and was loved and respected by his friends and family. He was born at the wrong time in the wrong place.
On November 1, 1986, eighteen year old Ronda Morrison was found dead on the floor of Monroe Cleaners where she worked. This happened in Monroeville, Alabama. The community was rightly upset. Someone had to pay. There were few leads to follow and no witnesses. The district attorney was under a lot of pressure. He needed someone to blame. And that is how Walter McMillian found himself on death row. Almost a dozen people were with Walter the day of the murder far from the scene of the crime. That did not seem to matter.
Bryan Stevenson is a special sort of person. At the age of twenty he was faced with an immense predicament. He knew that we have a serious problem in this country. He wished things were different. When a good man sees something wrong he knows he must act. As Johann Wolfgang Goethe once said, “Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Willing is not enough; we must do.”
Just Mercy is Bryan Stevenson’s inspiring story of how he found himself nearing graduation from college and had not yet figured out his purpose in life. He went to law school, as he tells it, because they “didn’t require you to know anything.” It was there that one of his first courses of study required him to spend a month doing social justice work. In December, 1983, he found himself in Atlanta working with the Southern Prisoners Defense Committee (SPDC).
Stevenson takes us with him into the Deep South where he ventures into prison to meet those who have been condemned to death. We meet interesting people who have been unfairly convicted with little or no legal representation. Bryan gives them something many of them had lost. He gives them hope. As he spends time in their company he is awakened to the fact that, as he puts it – each of us more than the worst thing we’ve ever done.
Bryan Stevenson knows firsthand what it is like to be black in America. He provides a detailed account of being confronted by the police for no good reason. He immediately thinks about how a black teenager might react is such a situation. He knows, but knowing is not enough. So he arranges to speak at local churches about how to act to when confronted by the police. He then goes on to talk about what we can do to make our communities safer.
Listen to Bryan Stevenson’s TED Talk. That is where I discovered him ten years ago. Then ask your librarian to get you a copy of this book. It will do your heart good.
If the President succeeds in violating the 14th Amendment it would he could revoke the citizenship of anyone, including the Right Reverend Mariann Budde.