Mariann Edgar Budde is the bishop and spiritual leader of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington, D.C., and the Washington National Cathedral. On January 21, 2025, many Americans were introduced to Bishop Budde thanks to what The New York Times called “an extraordinary act of public resistance.” During her prayer service for Donald J. Trump’s second inauguration, Bishop Budde addressed the president directly, imploring him “to have mercy on the people in our country who are scared now,” from those who are part of the LGBTQ+ community, to immigrants and refugees.

But for Bishop Budde, this moment was the culmination of a lifetime spent thinking about and acting when we’re called on to push past our fears and act with strength. In her most recent book, How We Learn to Be Brave: Decisive Moments in Life and Faith, Bishop Budde explores the full range of decisive moments, and seamlessly weaves together personal experiences with stories from scripture, history, and pop culture to underscore both the universality of these moments and the particular call each one of us must heed when they arrive.

Join Bishop Austin K. Rios and Dean Malcolm Clemens Young for a conversation with Bishop Budde about how being brave is not a singular occurrence; it’s a journey that we can choose to undertake every day.

Listen

Sermon by The Right Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde | 1.21.25

The conversation will be posted on our Youtube and Apple Podcast channels the next day for viewing any time.  

About the Guest

Mariann Edgar Budde serves as spiritual leader for the congregations and Episcopal schools in the District of Columbia and four Maryland counties that comprise the Episcopal Diocese of Washington. The first woman elected to this position, she also serves as the chair of the Protestant Episcopal Cathedral Foundation, which oversees the ministries of the Washington National Cathedral and Cathedral schools.

A passionate believer in the gospel of Jesus and the Episcopal Church’s particular witness, Bishop Budde is committed to the spiritual and numerical growth of congregations and developing new expressions of Christian community. She believes that Jesus calls all who follow him to strive for justice and peace, and to respect the dignity of every human being. To that end, Bishop Budde is an advocate and organizer in support of justice concerns, including racial equity, gun violence prevention, immigration reform, the full inclusion of LGBTQ+ persons, and the care of creation.

Bishop Budde was consecrated as the ninth bishop of Washington in November 2011. Prior to her election, she served for 18 years as rector of St. John’s Episcopal Church in Minneapolis. She earned a B.A. in history at the University of Rochester, graduating magna cum laude. She earned both a Masters in Divinity (1989) and Doctor of Ministry (2008) from Virginia Theological Seminary. Her sermons have been published in several books and journals and she is the author of three books, How We Learn to Be Brave: Decisive Moments in Life and Faith (2023); Receiving Jesus: The Way of Love (2019) and Gathering Up the Fragments: Preaching as Spiritual Practice (2007).

When not working, Bishop Budde enjoys riding her bicycle, spending time with family, and cooking dinner for friends.

About the Moderators

The Rt. Rev. Austin Keith Rios was ordained and consecrated Bishop Coadjutor of the Episcopal Diocese of California on May 4, 2024, and he assumed the role of Ninth Bishop of California on July 31, 2024, becoming the diocese’s chief pastor. Bishop Rios is the first Latino to be elected as a bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of California. Before joining the Diocese of California, Bishop Rios served for 12 years as the rector of St. Paul’s Within the Walls Episcopal Church in Rome, Italy, a multilingual and multicultural community that houses and offers The Joel Nafuma Refugee Center as its primary outreach. Additionally, he spent five years as the Rector of La Capilla de Santa Maria, a Spanish-speaking congregation in Hendersonville, North Carolina, while also serving as the Canon for Spanish-Speaking Ministries in the Diocese of Western North Carolina. Bishop Rios calls several places home, including Texas, where he was born; Rome, Italy; North Carolina; Wisconsin; Louisiana; and now, the San Francisco Bay Area. Bishop Rios holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Davidson College in Davidson, North Carolina, and a Master of Divinity degree from The Episcopal Theological Seminary of the Southwest in Austin, Texas. He was ordained as a priest in 2005. He is married to Maleah Rios and has one child.

The Very Rev. Dr. Malcolm Clemens Young is the dean of Grace Cathedral. He is the author of The Spiritual Journal of Henry David Thoreau and The Invisible Hand in Wilderness: Economics, Ecology, and God, and is a regular contributor on religion to the Huffington Post and San Francisco Examiner.

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