Protestant Church Congress: “Hopelessness is not an option”

This appearance took a lot of effort on her part. Not because hundreds of people are waiting for her in exhibition hall 16, standing and giving her a standing ovation before she has even uttered a word. Not because she will be asked again about that one sermon before which she was so nervous that she almost threw up. Mariann Edgar Budde, the Washington bishop of the Episcopal Church, the woman who publicly read the riot act to the American president, is afraid of flying. The mere thought of people in metal casings high up in the sky makes her uncomfortable. And yet here she is, standing behind the lectern, a glass of water next to her, an iPad in front of her. That's what it's all about: overcoming fear.

"Courageous, strong, courageous" - that is the motto of the 39th Church Congress. "We can be courageous" is the title of the panel on which Budde will speak on Saturday evening. She herself provided proof of this at the end of January in the National Cathedral in Washington when she asked for mercy for all those who are no longer welcome in the new America , who are afraid for their future, perhaps for their lives. Because they were born somewhere else, look different, love differently than the supporters of Donald Trump. Bishop Budde asked one of the most powerful and richest men in the world for something he clearly lacks: humanity.

The audience in Hanover wanted to know how she prepared for the speech that made her famous. How she felt before and afterward. Budde placed her fingertips together, her knees bobbing imperceptibly up and down. She followed her instinct, wanted to "bring into the room" those who were exposed to cruelty: gays, lesbians, transgender people. She asked God to take away her fear, Budde said, and afterward, routine carried her, the "body memory" from all the previous sermons.

"Basically, it doesn't matter how I felt," says Budde. No matter that the fuming president later called her "boring" and "left-wing radical." The flowers in the office, the boxes full of thank-you notes, the chocolate, and the hand-knitted socks, all of that gave her courage.

Budde says she is often asked why Americans are so rigid and silent in the face of historical ruptures. Many people are desperate and traumatized by the attacks on institutions, the aggressive deportation policies, and the hateful language. Budde describes a "culture of contempt" that is deeply rooted in American history and is now bearing toxic fruit. The US is "out of control," a spiraling, disoriented country. Europe can now serve as a role model in dealing with "its own polarizations."

On Friday, the news that the AfD had been classified as definitely right-wing extremist came right into the middle of the Church Congress , followed by the debate about a possible ban on the party and the social exclusion of enemies of democracy. At the Church Congress, they have always been more consistent on this issue than in talk shows and local parliaments. AfD politicians are not appearing as speakers at the country's largest Protestant gathering; they are not even invited. But there are still controversies, such as when Bundestag President Julia Klöckner (CDU) demands that the church please limit itself to questions of meaning and stay out of day-to-day politics . A hint of the headwind that Mariann Edgar Budde is feeling on the other side of the ocean.

For the fundamentalists around Donald Trump , Christianity is merely a means to an end: to shape society according to their ideas and to subjugate political opponents and dissidents. For his supporters, the president is not just elected, he is chosen. So how do we deal with a man who, shortly before the conclave begins, spreads an image of himself as Pope?

Of course, abuse of power must be clearly identified, says Budde. This just shouldn't lead to neighbors becoming enemies. Many Americans voted for Trump out of a feeling that politicians weren't interested in them and their little lives, "and they're right," says Budde. "Watch your words, speak about and to each other without malice." A "new, unifying vision" for the country must now be developed. The Bible is full of stories of ordinary people achieving extraordinary things. "Give what you have here, but don't give up. Hopelessness is not an option."

For Mariann Edgar Budde, resistance begins not with weapons, not even with harsh words, but with the mere refusal to harden oneself. Remaining approachable, even to those with different opinions, recognizing oneself in the other, even when there seems to be nothing left in common. This society, says Mariann Edgar Budde, can be shaped, not with violence, but through love and reconciliation.

It's not particularly concrete, not a manifesto, and certainly not a battle plan. But you have to start somewhere, and why not each of you start with yourself? At the end, they all sing together, arguably the most important protest song of the US civil rights movement. "We shall overcome" has been reinterpreted time and again, timeless, in part because of these lines: "We are not afraid. We are not afraid, today."