(Courtesy of Penguin Random House)
Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde delivers a sermon during the funeral service for conservationist Dr. Jane Goodall at the Washington National Cathedral on Nov. 12, 2025 in Washington, D.C. (Anna Moneymaker / Getty Images)
On Jan. 27, 2025, Mariann Edgar Budde, first female bishop and spiritual leader of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington, D.C., and the Washington National Cathedral, gave a homily during a prayer service following the second inauguration of President Donald Trump. Directly addressing the president, who was present, Budde asked him to “have mercy” on the LGBTQ+ community, immigrants, and all who were scared. What seemed to be a Christian message to Budde sparked a firestorm of controversy. Critics said she had politicized prayer. Her allies thought she was brave to confront the president publicly.
Budde stood up for herself in later media interviews that made her name known to millions of Americans. It wasn’t the first time she had faced criticism during a career that includes 18 years as a parish priest at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Minneapolis..
How did this woman of deep faith take on the challenge of spiritual leadership in 2011 when she was elected bishop? She answered in her 2023 bestseller “How We Learn to Be Brave: Decisive Moments in Life and Faith” (Penguin Random House). Now she and Bryan Bliss have partnered for “We Can Be Brave,” a Young Reader’s edition of the original book. Bliss is a writer, priest and theologian who chairs the religion department at Breck School in Minneapolis.
Bryan Bliss (Courtesy of the author)
“In these pages,” Budde writes, “Reverend Bryan Bliss and I have sought to place the events of June 1, 2020, and January 21, 2025, within a larger context, exploring how we learn to be brave over the course of a lifetime, and in all aspects of life, especially when the courageous decisions we make are known only to God.” (June 1, 2020, refers to the aftermath of the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis; Jan. 21, 2025, is the day after Trump was inaugurated for his second term as president.)
“We Can Be Brave,” in which Budde divulges a lot of her personal story, divides the journey to bravery into stages: Deciding to Go, Deciding to Stay, Deciding to Start, Stepping Up To the Plate, and the Inevitable Letdown.
Budde weaves pop culture into her narrative, including a conversation between Gandalf and Frodo in “Lord of the Rings” and references to Harry Potter. She also writes of civil rights leaders such as Martin Luther King Jr. Especially helpful are little sidebars titled Learn About It and Think About It that give brief explanations of names or events on that page. What, for instance, is King’s concept of redemptive suffering? Why can Biblical stories be described as archetypes or “myths”?
Although “We Can Be Brave” is marketed to young readers, it’s equally compelling for adults as we grapple with questions of church and state.
Budde, Bliss and Andrew Karre, St. Paul-based executive editor at Dutton Books for Young Readers, will talk about the new book at 6 p.m. Monday at Red Balloon Bookshop, 891 Grand Ave., St. Paul. If the free event needs to be moved to a bigger venue, it will be at St. John the Evangelist Episcopal Church, 60 N. Kent St., St. Paul. Advance registration necessary. Go to redballoonbookshop.com.
Also this week:
PEG GUILFOYLE: Discusses her new book “An Eye for Joy: Noticing the Good World Everywhere.” 4 p.m. Nov. 23, SubText Books, 6 W. Fifth St., St. Paul. 10 a.m. Saturday, Lake Country Booksellers, 4766 Washington Ave., White Bear Lake.
STEPHANIE HANSEN: Discusses “True North Cabin Cookbook Vol. 2.” 1 p.m. Saturday, Next Chapter Booksellers, 38 S. Snelling Ave., St. Paul.
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