Hello, I’m Bishop Mariann

As I officially enter Substack, let me introduce myself and welcome you to this curated space of reflections on faith, courage, and the work of love.

I am a Christian leader in the Episcopal Church tradition. My ministry includes the responsibility to speak publicly on behalf of the common good, heightened by the fact that I serve in Washington, DC.

On January 21, 2025, the day after President Trump’s inauguration as our 27th president, I chose to conclude my sermon at a Prayer Service for the Nation, held at the Washington National Cathedral, with a call for mercy:

“Let me make one final plea, Mr. President. Millions 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.

There are gay, lesbian, and transgender children in Democratic, Republican, and Independent families, some who fear for their lives.

The people who pick our crops and clean our office buildings, who labor 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. They pay taxes and are good neighbors. They are faithful members of our churches and mosques, synagogues, gurdwaras and temples.

I ask you to have mercy, Mr. President, on those in our communities whose children fear that their parents will be taken away. And that you help those who are fleeing war zones and persecution in their own lands to find compassion and welcome here. Our God teaches us that we are to be merciful to the stranger, for we were all once strangers in this land.

May God grant us the strength and courage to honor the dignity of every human being, to speak the truth to one another in love and walk humbly with each other and our God for the good of all people. Good of all people in this nation and the world. Amen”

My goal was to two-fold: to honor the dignity of people in our country who were described in public discourse in dishonest and degrading ways, as if they were a danger to the rest of us and didn’t belong among us, and to name mercy as one of the necessary foundations of the unity for which we were praying on that day.

Unity across diversity, and even intense polarization, doesn’t require us to agree on everything. But nor can true unity be built on coercion, misinformation, and contempt for those who differ. We are stronger as a people when we acknowledge the richness of our varied experiences, genuinely appreciate our differences, and are willing to seek the common good.

True unity is built on the foundations of honoring the human dignity of all people, honesty in both private and public speech; humility, because we all make mistakes and need one another’s perspective; and mercy, the capacity for empathy and genuine compassion for one

Though I attempted to speak with humility and respect when addressing the president, my words had the effect of amplifying the divisions that the prayer service for unity sought to address. It is a valid criticism. Yet if I had only said what our leaders wanted to hear, would that not have been a shirking of my responsibility?

Speaking out on the issues at the center of national debate is moral leadership.

Photo Credit: Aaron Schwartz/UPI

It is essential for Christian leaders to speak and act with the clarity of our convictions and with humility. For we are all in need of the same forgiveness, mercy, and grace that we are called by God to embody for others.

I believe that our greatest contribution as Christians is to speak of what we know and testify to what we have seen. More importantly, we are to live as best we can according to the highest aspirations of humankind revealed to us in Jesus:

• to recognize the inherent, God-given dignity of every human being

• to love our neighbors as ourselves, and even to love our enemies

• to share what we have and to strive for an equitable and just society

• to refrain from evil and refuse to hate

• to be mindful of the power of our words, and to speak without malice or contempt

• to forgive, as we have been forgiven

• to live in hope

• to be willing to sacrifice, even our very lives, for the sake of love.

In this space, I hope to encourage a kind of human discourse in which we don’t have to see the world the same way, but we can all agree that we all belong in this world.

In a culture of contempt, may we speak with dignity.

In a world of mean-spiritedness, may we act with kindness and love.

At a time when it is tempting to be cynical and despairing, may we live in hope.

All are welcome.