The BBC has invited Bishop Mariann Budde, the US bishop who challenged President Donald Trump at an inauguration service in January, to provide a Christmas message.
Bishop Budde, the Bishop of Washington since 2011, will broadcast a seasonal meditation on BBC Radio 4 on Boxing Day morning, December 26, at 12.15am.
Described as ‘a mirrored image on the meaning of Christmas’, the 14-minute programme forms a part of the BBC’s festive programming. Bishop Budde is because of reflect “on the past yr, her trust in God and her hope for all in times of challenge and division.”
Bishop Budde’s sermon in Washington National Cathedral in January was described as “nasty in tone” and from a “Radical Left hard line Trump hater” by Donald Trump.
She was preaching before President Trump, his family, and Vice-President JD Vance at a post-inauguration service of prayer on the President’s first full day in office.
During the sermon, the bishop addressed President Trump, sitting within the front row. She said: “In the name of God, I ask you to have mercy on the people in our country who’re scared now. There are gay, lesbian, and transgender children in Democratic and Republican and independent families, some who fear for his or her lives.”
Referring to undocumented migrants and their families, Bishop Budde said, “they will not be residents or have the correct documentation, however the overwhelming majority of immigrants should not criminals. I ask you to have mercy, Mr President, on those in our communities whose children fear that their parents might be taken away, and that you just help those that are fleeing war zones and persecution in their very own lands to search out compassion and welcome here.”
She also called for “the form of unity that fosters community across diversity and division, a unity that serves the common good … It will not be conformity. It will not be victory. It will not be polite weariness or passivity born of exhaustion. Unity will not be partisan,” she said.
In its publicity for the printed, the BBC notes, “At the beginning of the yr, on the US President’s inauguration, Bishop Budde preached a sermon that made an impact all over the world.”
The BBC is within the midst of a crisis after its director general and head of reports resigned, and Donald Trump is threatening it with a $1bn (£760m) lawsuit, for an edit in a TV documentary that, it’s alleged, made it seem like he was explicitly urging people to attack the US Capitol on 6 January 2021.
President Trump has demanded a retraction, an apology and compensation. The BBC has apologised to Trump but has rejected his demands for compensation.
In advance of the Christmas broadcast, Bishop Budde has written an article for British listings magazine, Radio Times.
Under the headline, ‘Seeing as God sees,’ Bishop Budde writes “The disparity between the promise of Christmas and the pain of this world is heartbreaking. But if you happen to’re like me, believer or not, you’re grateful to have this yearly occasion as a respite from hate.
“So hold your broken heart before God this Christmas. Hold before God whatever belief you may have, or don’t have, or long for. Hold whatever glimpses of joy, love, forgiveness and generosity you may have known. For they too are God’s signs for you that the promise is real.”
Rev Peter Crumpler is a Church of England minister in St Albans, Herts, UK, and a former communications director with the CofE.
 The BBC has invited Bishop Mariann Budde, the US bishop who challenged President Donald Trump at an inauguration service in...){kind=link}