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History has a consistent tendency of repeating itself while
changing its own course, making its back and forth of new and old records. In
world history, the third week of the year 2025 saw the return of the erstwhile
US President Donald Trump to the White House. In the same week, within the same
context, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington ‘The Right Rev Mariann
Edgar Budde’ made her own history which essentially was a repeat of a number of
historical records, that dates back many centuries. Bishop Budde made headlines
after she used her sermon at the National Cathedral prayer service for the
inauguration of Trump, to implore him to “have mercy upon” immigrants and
LGBTQ+ individuals”, this after he had made startling statements about the
LGBTQ+ communities and the immigrants in the US (Washington National Cathedral YouTube
Channel: 21 January 2025 - https://youtu.be/xwwaEuDeqM8). Budde’s
actions are reported to have angered the newly minted US President, a not so
surprising nor new reaction in history books.
In the contemporary, we ought to look at this historical
moment in a way that seeks to remind us of the significance of speaking truth
to power as a historical phenomenon, particularly as a theological response to
the challenges of the world, to influence the necessary change. It is to be
noted that this was not Trump’s first encounter of bishop Budde’s theology of
justice for the oppressed and persecuted. We know that during Trump’s first
term, the bishop published an opinion piece in the New York Times (https://shorturl.at/HSEYl), expressing her
outrage over Trump’s appearance in front of St John’s Episcopal church in
Washington DC, when he held up a Bible for a photo after federal officers used
force to clear a crowd of peaceful protesters demonstrating against the death
of George Floyd, but what is most significant is that she is one of the very
few theologians, let alone church representatives that can confront President
Trump without any fear or favour, particularly standing up for the downtrodden,
a deep theological question that speaks to the church being the ethical voice
of the world.
Given that bishop Budde is a theologian and a significant
representative of the Christian community by virtue of her bishopric position,
we ought to liken or count her actions among the many men and women in biblical
history that stood firm against the powers that be, especially women. Biblical
history tells us that the children of Israel lived under various oppressive
emperors, home or in exile. Equally, in his human form Jesus Christ lived in
the era of the same oppressive regime. This is why in his letter to the
Philippians, Paul reminds the church to be like Christ when injustices were
muted against him or the poor, he reminds them of their prophetic
responsibility to serve others (Philippians 2), reason why the likes of Budde
shall go down in history as having to have stood on the side of the oppressed
against the powerful, regardless of the dangers that comes with such actions,
victimisation emotionally, career wise and in some instances death. To this we
remember the likes of Queen Ester in the Bible, who risked her life to save her
people from genocide, embodying the courage needed to confront systemic
injustice. This particular incident is narrated in the Old testament book of Esther,
chapters 4-7. In particular, chapter seven narrates the exact action we are
referring to “Queen Esther answered, “If I have found favour in your eyes, O
King, and if it please the king, give me my life, and give my people their
lives. “We've been sold, I and my people, to be destroyed—sold to be massacred,
eliminated” (Esther 7:3-4 NIV). Esther uttered these words to king Xerxes
knowing very well that it was against the law to do so, and that the punishment
for such was nothing but further oppression of her people, her own individual
victimisation by the king and other powerful members of his administration (the
likes of Haman), and potential death. Given that she was already a Queen, with
great favour of the king, with all its privileges and comfort, she understood
that ‘advocacy requires personal sacrifice and bravery’ and for her people she
was willing to risk it all, just as bishop Budde understood that speaking
against Donald Trump came with a whole host of possible victimisations, but she
is still willing to risk it all. Budde’s theology has a clear understanding that
“it is the church’s social ethical responsibility to reflect, consider and act
in line with the basic principles of its Christian and theological teaching, to
ensure that its reflections and actions, through its leaders are aimed at
ensuring that social justice is realised, that a peaceful and harmonious world
where people of all gender, creed or sexual preference live together,
regardless of the risks involved. We can speak of many other biblical figures
that stood on the side of the downtrodden, the likes of Moses, Nehemiah, Paul,
prophets Micah, Nathan and others. But in keeping with the context of women and
their role in social justice, Wayne Crowther makes the point that “While some
sources spotlight advocacy heroes like Queen Esther, further exploration
uncovers numerous other women who played pivotal roles in advancing biblical
social justice. Deborah, a judge and prophet, and Huldah, a prophetess,
exemplify leadership and advocacy in the biblical narrative. Additionally, the
stories of lesser-known women working behind the scenes to effect change add to
a comprehensive view of biblical justice. Recognizing their contributions
underscores the necessity of gender equity in social justice and inspires contemporary
movements to honour and elevate women’s roles in advocacy” (W. Crowther: 14
July 2024 (https://shorturl.at/ITyXl),
making Budde’s contribution even much more significant in the contemporary.
However, we do acknowledge that “each of the biblical stories, deeply embedded
in prophetic literature, underscores the crucial importance of compassion,
ethical treatment, and divine justice”.
How can we not bring it closer to home, South Africa and Africa in
general, the African church has an equal prophetic responsibility to speak out
against injustices in society. Among other historical theologians we remember
the likes of Archbishop Desmond Mpilo Tutu, there is a great amount of literature
that is available to us, that narrates many of his prophetic encounters and
vocal actions against injustices. Throughout his entire life as an Anglican
priest he has spoken truth to power against both the Apartheid and the
democratic government, without fear or favour. How can we forget the December
2011 press conference where the Arch spoke prophetically against the ruling ANC
just as he did against the Apartheid Nationalist government, in his statement
he said “one day we (the church) will start praying for the defeat of the ANC
government” (SABC News Channel – 5 October 2011), regardless of his assumed
historical support of the ANC and the potential victimization that the church
would experience upon this action, he continued to exercise his ethical
prophetic expectation as a church leader. In recent times we have seen a number
of significant efforts by church leaders, in particular I note those of the Anglican
church of Southern Africa (ACSA), which generally believes
that “God is calling the church to advocacy and involvement in education,
nurture of the young, women and gender issues, the environment and health”
(ACSA website – Accessed 29 July 2023), this can be seen in action through
among others:
1. Archbishop Thabo Makgoba’s interview
on SABC news, calling for “the transformation of South Africa” (SABC news 10
April 2023: – Accessed 29 July 2023)
2. Archbishop Thabo Makgoba Homily for
the Easter Vigil, calling on “young people to take on the fight against
corruption” (SABC news 8 April 2023 – Accessed 29 July 2023)
3. Bishop Steve Moreo of the Dioces of
Johannesburg calling for the City Mayor to take responsibility for the non-collection
of rubbish around the Cathedral (Twitter 3 April 2023 – Accessed 29 July 2023)
However, in keeping with the feminine context and theme around bishop Budde, we notice with great interest and jubilation, the emergence of female bishops in the church of Africa. Six African Anglican female bishops, fondly known as the “Africa Six”, gathered at St Paul’s University in Nairobi, Kenya on 11th of January in 2024, their gathering was aimed at among others “to share their ideas and inspirations about Christian Leadership for the 21st Century, but most significant was their rebuke of the African church in its silence on the triple challenges of Gender based Violence, HIV and teenage pregnancy that directly affects the African woman” (Scientology: 30 May 2024 (https://shorturl.at/4mPhB), and it is for this reason that I submit that “the rise of the African woman in the church means the rise of the voice of the church in speaking truth to power”.
It is my hope that the example set by bishop
Budde will trickle down to every corner of the church across the globe, for it
to take up its rightful place in speaking truth to power and standing up for
the oppressed and downtrodden. Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde will go down
in history books as “the female theologian that contributed significantly in
speaking truth to what is arguably the most powerful man in the world” and for
that we are certain that God is pleased.
Kgosiemang Phejane
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