Earlier this year, Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde delivered a sermon that drew national attention as President Donald Trump returned to the White House. She spoke about unity, how people of faith respond in uncertain times, and she directly asked Trump to have mercy on immigrants, transgender children and people fleeing war zones. 

Her sermon — at that moment and in that setting — sparked conversations about how people decide what to stand for and how they respond when those choices are difficult. Those questions are at the heart of her latest book, “We Can Be Brave,” an adaptation for young readers of her bestseller, ”How We Learn to Be Brave.”

MPR News guest host Catharine Richert talks with Budde — and the theologian who helped adapt her book — about being brave in life’s hardest moments and how they define courage in personal and public life.  

Guests:

• Mariann Edgar Budde is the first woman elected spiritual leader for the Episcopal Diocese of Washington which includes the Washington National Cathedral, other congregations and Episcopal schools in the District of Columbia and four Maryland counties. Previously, Bishop Budde was a parish priest at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Minneapolis for 18 years. She is the author of “How We Learn to Be Brave” and the adaption for young readers, “We Can Be Brave: How We Learn to be Brave in Life’s Decisive Moments.”
• Bryan Bliss is a writer, priest and theologian. He is chaplain and chair of the religion department at Breck School, a private school in Golden Valley, Minn. He helped adapt Bishop Budde’s book for young readers and he is the author of “We’ll Fly Away,” a novel based on his experience witnessing an execution as a member of the press.