The Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church, Michael Curry, has joined other faith leaders of the National Council of Churches in calling for the resignation or removal of President Donald J. Trump.
The letter issued by the NCC was addressed to Vice President Mike Pence, members of Congress, and members of the president’s Cabinet.
According to CNN reporting, Pence is holding out the option of invoking the 25th amendment should Trump become more unstable.
New reporting from @Acosta: "VP Pence has not ruled out an effort to invoke the 25th Amendment and wants to preserve it as an option in case Trump becomes more unstable, a source close to the VP says."https://t.co/rD5glDPx5g
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) January 10, 2021
Southern Baptist ethicist Russell Moore has called for Trump to resign:
Mr. President, people are dead. The Capitol is ransacked. There are 12 dangerous days for our country left.
Could you please step down and let our country heal? https://t.co/wP3niITQv6
— Russell Moore (@drmoore) January 8, 2021
In addition, the presidential cabinet of the Society for Christian Ethics has called for Trump’s removal.
The NCC letter follows:
January 8, 2021
Our faith instructs us to take seriously positions of leadership, not to lead others astray and to be careful about what we say and do. In Philippians 2:3-4 we are taught to, “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others.”
President Donald J. Trump’s actions and words have endangered the security of the country and its institutions of government by inciting a violent, deadly, seditious mob attack at the U.S. Capitol. His words and actions have placed the lives of the people he is supposed to serve in grave danger to advance his own interests. Further, he not only failed to stop or condemn the attack after the Capitol had been stormed but instead encouraged the mob by calling them patriots. This domestic terrorist attack resulted in at least five deaths, including a Capitol Police Officer, and more than a dozen police officers injured. The desecration of the Capitol building was also disgraceful and reprehensible.
For the good of the nation, so that we might end the current horror and prepare the way for binding up the nation’s wounds, we, as leaders of the member communions of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the USA (NCC), believe the time has come for the President of the United States, Donald J. Trump, to resign his position immediately. If he is unwilling to resign, we urge you to exercise the options provided by our democratic system.
In addition, we recognize the need to hold responsible not only those who invaded the Capitol, but also those who supported and/or promoted the President’s false claims about the election, or made their own false accusations.
We grieve for our country at this difficult time and continue to pray for the safety and security, and ultimately the healing of our nation. Holding those who have abused their power and participated in these immoral and tragic actions, in particular the President of the United States, is one step toward healing.
Signed,
Jim Winkler, General Secretary and President
National Council of Churches
Rev. Dr. John C. Dorhauer
General Minister and President, United Church of Christ
Chair, National Council of Churches Governing Board
Bishop W. Darin Moore
Presiding Bishop, AME Zion Church
Immediate Past Chair, National Council of Churches
Bishop Teresa Jefferson-Snorton
Christian Methodist Episcopal Church
Vice Chair, National Council of Churches
Rev. Teresa Hord Owens, General Minister and President
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
Rev. Dr. Néstor Gómez,
The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
Rev. Paula Clayton Dempsey, Director of Partnership Relations
Alliance of Baptists
Bishop Elizabeth Eaton, Presiding Bishop
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
Most Rev. Michael B. Curry, Presiding Bishop
The Episcopal Church
Senior Bishop Lawrence Reddick
Christian Methodist Episcopal Church
Bishop Sally Dyck, Ecumenical Officer of the Council of Bishops
The United Methodist Church
Rev. Dr. Jean Hawxhurst, Ecumenical Staff Officer
The United Methodist Church
Rev. Eddy Alemán, General Secretary
Reformed Church in America
Rev. Jane Siebert, President
Swedenborgian Church of North America
His Eminence Archbishop Vicken Aykazian, Ecumenical Director and Diocesan Legate
The Armenian Church, Eastern Diocese of America
Dr. Kimberly Brook
African Methodist Episcopal Church
Rev. Richard Tafel
Swedenborgian Church
Carole Collins, Director of Operation
Alliance of Baptists
Reverend Brenda Girton-Mitchell
Progressive National Baptist Convention
Rev. Dr. W. Franklyn Richardson
Chair, Conference of National Black Churches
Stephen M. Veazey, President (Head of Communion)
Community of Christ
His Grace Mar Awa Royel, Bishop of California and Secretary of the Holy Synod
Assyrian Church of the East
Bishop Francis Krebs, Presiding Bishop
Ecumenical Catholic Communion
Rev. Dr. James Herbert Nelson II, Stated Clerk of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA)
Presbyterian Church (USA)