I don’t know about you. Washington Episcopal Bishop Mariann Budde’s sermon moved me. It was delivered at the Washington National Cathedral’s Service of Prayer for the Nation.

She directed the words spoken at the end of her sermon to Donald Trump. We call it the “Seeking Mercy Sermon.”

Here is some of what she said.

“Let me make one final plea, Mr. President. Millions have put their trust in you and, as you told the nation yesterday, you have felt the providential hand of a loving God. In the name of our God, I ask you to have mercy upon the people in our country who are scared now. There are gay, lesbian and transgender children in Democratic, Republican, and Independent families, some who fear for their lives. The people who pick our crops and clean our office buildings; who labor in poultry farms and meat packing plants; who wash the dishes after we eat in restaurants and work the night shifts in hospitals. They…may not be citizens or have the proper documentation. But the vast majority of immigrants are not criminals. They pay taxes and are good neighbors. They are faithful members of our churches and mosques, synagogues, gurudwaras and temples. I ask you to have mercy, Mr. President, on those in our communities whose children fear that their parents will be taken away. And that you help those who are fleeing war zones and persecution in their own lands to find compassion and welcome here. Our God teaches us that we are to be merciful to the stranger, for we were all once strangers in this land. May God grant us the strength and courage to honor the dignity of every human being, to speak the truth to one another in love and walk humbly with each other and our God for the good of all people. Good of all people in this nation and the world. Amen”

Here are two videos of the prayer service. The first is the section of the sermon directed at Trump to have some mercy on the immigrants among us. For God’s sake, his wife is an immigrant, and his Vice-President’s wife is also an immigrant. Watch their wives when the Bishop gives her the “Have mercy” part of her sermon. They don’t take their eyes off the Bishop. They ignore their husbands’ body language. They disregard their facial expressions meant to gain their support. The husbands react with embarrassment at being caught in the act. I believe that their wives tuned into the Bishop and, in their hearts, prayed with her.

Trump and Vance have derided immigrants for years. Their words demonized the communities of people who came to our country. These individuals sought refuge from lawlessness, extreme climate change conditions, and violence. Their lies and misrepresentations of immigrants have played into the minds of their MAGA Head followers.

They overstated the number of immigrants who entered the country by more than 10 million. They claim that immigrants are violent criminals and murderers. Immigrants don’t threaten communities, as Trump and Vance claim; they revitalize communities. Trump claims that immigrants steal American jobs. Not true. Data on U.S. employment overwhelmingly suggest that migrants fill otherwise vacant jobs.

They keep job creation strong. Migrants also give an influx of millions of tax dollars. Migrants also take on labor-intensive positions that native-born Americans are unwilling to take. And, of course, Trump and Vance say that migrants are terrorists. They say that thousands of terrorists are coming into the country. They claim that thousands are coming in. Government data (which they probably don’t trust) show that the numbers are much lower and decreasing. As of July, 139 people on the watchlist were stopped at the US-Mexico Border and 283 at the U.S.-Canada border.

Thank you, Bishop Budde, for speaking directly to Trump, Vance, and their families, as well as the American people.