As efforts to strengthen resistance against the new presidential administration build, leaders of the revitalized movement are emerging, and sometimes unexpectedly. When the Rt. Reverend Mariann Edgar Budde, the Bishop of Washington, during her inaugural prayer service address made a plea for mercy and compassion towards vulnerable people, including members of LGBTQ+ communities, she expressed the sentiments of many while shocking listeners—even President Donald Trump—with her directness in that pivotal moment.
Danielle Moodie, co-host of The New Abnormal, said: “I can’t thank Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde enough for being an absolute profile in courage.” (She was referencing the late President John F. Kennedy’s best-selling book, Profiles in Courage.) Moodie added, “I know that MAGA loves to feed off people’s fear and that’s what gets them excited, but it is people like her that are modeling how you stand up to these people.”
The sermon clearly rattled President Trump, who had no choice but to sit submissively in the Washington National Cathedral, a place where Bishop Budde holds prominence. Just hours prior, during his Inaugural Address, he said, in part, “We will not forget our country, we will not forget our Constitution, and we will not forget our God.” He also said, “I was saved by God (from the assassin’s bullet) to make America great again.”
By that logic, he was also meant to hear Bishop Budde’s words and to heed them.
Another church leader speaking out boldly now is the San Francisco-based Venerable Miguel Bustos, Archdeacon and Director of the School for Deacons within the Episcopal Church. He is featured in this issue of the San Francisco Bay Times. As he shares, the Episcopal Church is welcoming to the LGBTQ+ community; allows same-sex marriage; and highlights respect, inclusion, and acceptance of gender identities and expressions. Just a few days ago, the Episcopal Anglican Church in Brazil ordained its first out homosexual priest, Auderli Sidnei Schroeder.
Also standing up for the rights of marginalized peoples and especially members of the transgender community is Bay Times columnist Honey Mahogany, who is the Director of the San Francisco Office of Transgender Initiatives; and Suzanne Ford, the Executive Director of San Francisco Pride. Both are included in this issue and have been speaking out nearly every day via local media outlets and more since January 20, 2025, Inauguration Day.
Internationally recognized marriage equality activists and Bay Times columnists John Lewis and Stuart Gaffney have also been intensifying their work. They too are included in this issue and are among the many other individuals who are emerging as leaders at this time of political upheaval and the Trump administration’s undermining of core democratic principles.
Published on January 30, 2025
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