Our wish for our loved ones is summed up in the admonition, “Stay safe!” 2026 may well be calling us to change to, “Be brave!”
Mercy
On January 21, 2025, Rev. Mariann Budde, Episcopal Bishop of Washington, gave the sermon at an interfaith prayer service in the Washington National Cathedral, the day after Donald Trump returned to the White House.
The reaction to her call for mercy was immediate, intense, and reflective of where America is heading as a nation.
I wrote about the response here. Reaction went way beyond typical REVwords readers. In response to misinformation, I wrote a response here.
Review the last year of President Trump and Bishop Budde. The President’s behaviour bears witness of why a call to mercy was fitting. Witnessing the months long, unrestrained violence of ICE agents is the tip of the iceberg. The rampant gaslighting and deceit out of the White House is a blight on the land of the free.
Bishop Budde continued to show mercy in her response to power as well as to the powerless.
I’ve always lead churches with the conviction that it’s best to err on the side of mercy. One entire year at North Pointe was framed by the word, mercy.
It takes bravery to be merciful.
How To Be Brave
Bishop Budde published a book entitled, How to be Brave in May 2023
. After January 2025, she started writing about Be Brave Together on Substack. In September 2025, the Bishop and friends working in mental health, created a 3-hour, online workshop: Be Brave Together. Every session is sold out until March 2026. I’m waiting for them to announce sessions post-March.
It seems that a moment soon is more probable than possible. How do you prepare? Dietrich Bonhoeffer comes to mind as a man who acted bravely in 1939 by returning from the safety of New York to Germany to face down Nazism in his country and church. His bravery was built over years of daily decisions. Bishop Budde acted in the same spirit in 2025.
Preparation
She observed,
“The capacity to respond in such a moment doesn’t drop from the sky, nor is its significance measured by a week’s worth of media coverage. Moments like these are preceded by seasons of preparation, practice and intention, of making countless daily decisions that determine our capacity to be brave when called upon or when we’re summoned not of our own choosing.”
Key Lessons on Bravery from Bishop Budde
- Bravery is a journey, not a destination: It’s built through everyday choices, not just dramatic events.
- Embrace decisive moments: These are turning points like deciding to leave, stay, start something new, or accept tough realities.
- Act despite fear: It’s normal to feel unworthy or unprepared when life calls, but you step into the gap and act anyway, drawing on your true self and beliefs. the National Cathedral.
- Find courage in faith & life: She uses scripture, history, and personal stories (like her encounter with Donald Trump at St. John’s) to show universal paths to courage.
- Perseverance is key: Bravery involves the quiet strength to persevere after big acts, understanding the ongoing effort. this YouTube video.
“May you and I dare to believe that we are where we are meant to be when that moment comes, doing the work that is ours to do, fully present to our lives. For it is in this work that we learn to be brave.” ― Mariann Edgar Budde, How We Learn to Be Brave: Decisive Moments in Life and Faith
Christian Work
Our greatest work 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 neighbours 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.
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