The Rt. Rev. Mariann Budde will deliver the benediction on the second night of the Democratic National Convention. Budde is the bishop of the Diocese of Washington.
As the AP reports:
Budde was outspoken in her criticism of Trump for staging the June 1 visit to the historic St. John’s Church across from the White House, where he held up a Bible after authorities had cleared the area of people protesting peacefully against racial injustice. “He took the symbols sacred to our tradition and stood in front of a house of prayer in full expectation that would be a celebratory moment,” Budde said in an interview after Trump’s walk from the White House.
The faith leaders participating in Democratic National Convention are,
- Monday’s Invocation—Reverend Dr. Gabriel Salguero: Reverend Salguero is the president and founder of the National Latino Evangelical Coalition, and the pastor at The Gathering Place in Orlando, Florida. He formerly served as the director of the Hispanic Leadership Program at Princeton Theological Seminary and on the My Brother’s Keeper Advisory Board.
- Monday’s Benediction—Pastor Jerry Young: Pastor Young has faithfully led the vibrant congregation of New Hope Baptist Church since 1980. Under his watchful care, Pastor Young has led New Hope to experience explosive growth physically, spiritually, and influentially for the cause of Christ. To date, the ministry is comprised of over three thousand members and forty-four ministries. He is the immediate past President of the General Missionary Baptist State Convention of Mississippi, Inc. and immediate past Vice President At-Large of the National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc. Dr. Young was elected as the 18th President of the National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc. in September 2014, during the convention’s 134th Annual Session held in New Orleans, Louisiana.
- Tuesday’s Benediction—Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde: Bishop Budde serves as spiritual leader for 88 Episcopal congregations and ten Episcopal schools in the District of Columbia and four Maryland counties. The first woman elected to this position, she also serves as the chair and president of the Protestant Episcopal Cathedral Foundation, which oversees the ministries of the Washington National Cathedral and Cathedral schools.
- Wednesday’s Benediction—His Eminence Archbishop Elpidophoros of America: Archbishop Elpidophoros is the eighth Archbishop of America elected since the establishment of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese in 1922. He has been an active member of the World Council of Churches serving on its Central Committee and also serving on its Faith and Order Commission since 1996.
- Thursday’s Invocation—Sister Simone Campbell: Sister Simone is the Executive Director of NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice—a federal advocacy organization founded by Catholic Sisters to lobby in Washington, DC for policies that mend the gaps in income and wealth in the United States. She has also led six cross-country “Nuns on the Bus” trips focused on tax justice, healthcare, economic justice, comprehensive immigration reform, voter turnout, bridging divides in politics and society, and mending the gaps.
- Thursday’s Benediction—Rabbi Lauren Berkun: Rabbi Berkun is a Vice President of the Shalom Hartman Institute of North America, where she directs Rabbinic Initiatives and is a member of the senior executive team. She also oversees staff education, training and curriculum development for Hartman’s iEngage project.
- Thursday’s Benediction—The Reverend James Martin, SJ: The Reverend James Martin, SJ, is a Jesuit priest, editor at large of America, and the author of many books, including Jesus: A Pilgrimage, The Jesuit Guide, and the forthcoming Learning to Pray.
- Thursday’s Benediction—Imam Dr. Al-Hajj Talib ‘Abdur-Rashid: Imam Talib is a Muslim faith-based social justice activist whose mission spans more than three decades. He has been the religious and spiritual leader (Imam) of The Mosque of Islamic Brotherhood Inc. since November 1989. The mosque, located in Harlem, New York City, is the fifty-three-year-old lineal descendant of the Muslim Mosque Inc. founded by the late El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz (Malcolm X) in 1964. Imam ‘Abdur-Rashid is also a former Ameer (President) of the Majlis Ash-Shura (Islamic Leadership Council) of New York. Currently he is its Special Assistant for Restorative Justice, Civil and Human Rights. Nationally, the imam serves as the Deputy Amir (Vice President) of The Muslim Alliance in North America.