29 Jan Westwood Teens Speak Truth to the New President

Dear Westwood Community,

Last Sunday in Grapple, we watched the widely circulated video of Episcopal Bishop Mariann Budde speaking directly to President Trump at the National Cathedral’s Inaugural Prayer Service, held on the Tuesday after last week’s inauguration. For any of you who have not seen it, you can watch the excerpt from the bishop’s sermon here. In it, she reminds the president of his own words from the day before, in which he claimed to have felt the “providential hand of a loving God,” and asks him for mercy on behalf of “people in our country who are scared,” namely LGBT+ individuals and immigrants.

After watching the video, I asked our group of youths what they would say if they were in the bishop’s place- able to speak directly to the president from a platform they knew may reach a lot of people. We had some time to write, and the responses from some of the youth felt particularly moving and relevant.

With their permission, I am sharing some of their words here: 

“Mr. President, I would like to remind you of this: You have the opportunity to help so many, to look beyond yourself and know that at the end of the day, not one of us is better than another, more valuable than another, or more worthy than another. No matter the color of our skin, our gender identity, who we love, or who we worship, we are all somebody’s child. We are all living, breathing, thinking, feeling humans, and no matter our citizenship or race or gender, we deserve to live. And even though it may be too late for you, sir, to see this or care about it, I wish to remind everyone that there is always hope, and everyone, everyone is worth our love.” – 7th grader

“Be merciful with thy neighbor, and show kindness to others as oneself. I not only just ask this of the president, but to the common man. Turn the other cheek and show your brothers and sisters love for each other. Show love to your neighbor and demonstrate what it means to be human. We should not make walls, we should break them. Be the bigger person and open your hearts to kindness, and soon, kindness will come in return.” – 9th grader

“Mr. President, a few words for your next four years: ‘A fool’s mouth lashes out with pride, but the lips of the wise protect them.’ (Proverbs 14:3). ‘Don’t make anger unnecessarily, for it will only bring you down.’ I ask for you to fix your mistakes from last time, for ‘Fools mock at making amends for sins, but goodwill is found among the upright.’ (Proverbs 14:9). Be willing to admit mistakes and take correction, for with everyone who scorns discipline and correction, another listens and becomes greater over the other. Wealth is not the only thing that matters, Mr. President, for it is worthless on the day of [reckoning]. Instead, do what is right and benefits the most people, for you shall be delivered from death for doing so. And lastly, do not make pointless enemies, and throw away your allies, for whoever denies their neighbor has no sense, and will ultimately be destroyed.” – Nathan Salyer

“Going forward, always look out for all people. War and strife may push your own ambition and glory during your tenure, but prioritize the voice of the people and how it will come back on them. May God bless you and guide you to see clearly and with good intentions. Remember those that are so often forgotten and look to them for guidance, for they are the body of this country. And you are the representative of the country’s mind, body, and soul.” – Emma Pang-Le

“In the book of Matthew, the lord says to the people on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the Devil and his angels, for I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’ Then the people who have been so judged reply ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison?’ God responded ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’ Mr. President, you are making our country like the sinners being judged. Instead of feeding and clothing and welcoming the strangers, you are deporting them and labeling them criminals and rapists. I ask you to treat the least of these immigrants, and LGBT+ children, and countless others, as you would treat the Lord.” – Quinn Weatherford

I am one of the many people Bishop Budde referred to who feel afraid, uncertain, and heartbroken by the events of the past week. It is discouraging that her most basic message, a call for mercy, was somehow perceived to be a divisive battle cry that warrants an apology.

In Queer Group this week, one of my dear friends spoke to the messages he has been receiving from his family – messages of exclusion, fear, and damnation – and said “The God I serve does not want me to be afraid.” This is the truth I see in the words of the Grapplers, in the radical community of love I experience in Queer Group, in the faces at Westwood who choose to keep showing up, no matter how discouraged we may feel.

Today, I want to use the words of our youth to remind you to recenter on our values- values that are backed by Scripture, by hundreds of years of tradition, and by the example set for us by Christ himself. As the bishop said, “Unity is not partisan.” Now is not the time to back off, hide, or break away. Now is the time to hold strong to the values we hold dear- to love our neighbors, to pray for those who challenge us, to welcome the stranger, to create space for those who would otherwise be forgotten or abandoned, to choose love over fear, again and again and again. I will be fighting for the world we are called by Christ to build, now more than ever.

Yours in solidarity,
Everest