Who is Mariann Edgar Budde, Bishop Who Appealed President Trump To ‘Have Mercy’ On LGBTQ?

<p>At the inaugural prayer service, the Right Rev Mariann Budde, the Episcopal bishop of Washington, made an appeal to US President Donald Trump to have mercy on the LGBTQ+ community and undocumented migrant workers.</p>
<p>Bishop Budde, in her 15-minute sermon, &nbsp;said, &ldquo;Let me make one final plea, Mr President. Million 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.”</p>
<p>&ldquo;They are gay, lesbian and transgender children in Democratic, Republican, and independent families, some who fear for their lives”, she added.</p>
<p>While defending the immigrants, Budde said, “The people who pick our farms, and clean our office buildings, who labour in poultry farms and meat-packing 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”, as reported by NDTV.</p>
<p>Her remarks came just a day after the Trump administration already issued several executive orders, including one taking back transgender rights and toughening the immigration policies in the country.</p>
<p>However, when a reporter asked Trump for a reaction to the sermon, he said, “Not too exciting, was it. I didn’t think it was a good service. No…They can do much better.”</p>
<p><strong>Who is Mariann Edgar Budde?</strong></p>
<p>Mariaan Edgar Budde is the spiritual leader for 86 Episcopal congregations and ten Episcopal schools in the Columbia district and four Maryland counties. Apart from this, she has also served as the rector of St. John&rsquo;s Episcopal Church in Minneapolis for 18 years before moving to Washington.</p>
<p>According to her bio, she is an alumna of University of Rochester, New York where she pursued Bachelors&rsquo; in History. She also has a Masters in Divinity (1989) and Doctor of Ministry (2008) from the Virginia Theological Seminary.</p>