How We Learn to Be Brave

Informationen zum Autor Mariann Edgar Budde is the bishop and spiritual leader of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington, D.C., and the Washington National Cathedral. Prior to her election in 2011, she was a parish priest in Minneapolis for eighteen years. She has appeared on PBS NewsHour , Meet the Press , Good Morning America , and the Today show, among others. Bishop Budde earned her master's in divinity and doctor of ministry from Virginia Theological Seminary. Klappentext "In recent years, Bishop Mariann Budde has become known for offering the right words at the right time, creating moments of healing amid turmoil. With How We Learn to Be Brave, she teaches readers to respond with clarity and grace even in the toughest times. Being brave is not a singular occurrence; it's a journey that we can choose to undertake every day. The decisive moments in life are those pivot points when we're called upon to push past our fears and act with strength. Drawing on examples ranging from Harry Potter to the Gospel According to Luke, Bishop Budde seamlessly weaves together personal experiences with stories from scripture, history, and pop culture to underscore both the universality of these moments and the particular call each one of us must heed when they arrive"-- Leseprobe We all want to be brave when it counts-to be the one who steps up, leans in, and does the right thing when it matters most. We want to bring our best selves when we're called upon, to speak with clarity and conviction in a pivotal situation. This book is about those decisive moments when we are called to act with courage and, much to our own amazement, we do. Although the more dramatic moments seem to catch us by surprise, looking through the wider lens of our lives, we can see that the acts of bravery that astonish even us are not isolated events. In this book, I examine life through that wider lens in hope that you, reader, will realize that you have all the raw material you need to live with courage and purpose in your decisive moments, and all the moments that precede and follow them. Decisive moments are marking events. They stand out in our memory and are what others often remember about us. We feel a rush of adrenaline, making us acutely aware of what's happening. We feel alive-so much so that the rest of our lives can feel dull and uninspired by comparison. Yet decisive moments are almost always preceded by seasons of preparation, and they are followed by an equally important season of alignment, in which we learn to live according to what the decisive moments revealed, clarified, or set in motion. How we prepare for decisive moments determines our ability to step up to them when they come, and how we live in light of our decisive moments is, in the end, what determines their significance. There have been many decisive moments in my life, but few as public as what happened on June 1, 2020. To be honest, I didn't have time to think. Urged on by horrified church colleagues who were watching the president walk to St. John's Church on live television and lighting up my phone with texts, I managed to find my voice and speak. The president's actions touched a societal nerve, as did my speaking out against them. It seemed to others that I was being very brave. In truth, it felt more like being summoned to take my place alongside others who were being brave. Something had to be said, not just about that presidential moment, but the moment we were in as a nation, mourning the murder of George Floyd, watching crowds pour into the streets in cities across the nation, and facing yet again the need for racial reckoning. Because of my position, I had an opportunity to speak and be heard. The capacity to respond in such a moment doesn't drop from the sky, nor is its significance measured by a week's worth of media coverage. Moments like these are preceded by season...

Autorentext
Mariann Edgar Budde is the bishop and spiritual leader of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington, D.C., and the Washington National Cathedral. Prior to her election in 2011, she was a parish priest in Minneapolis for eighteen years. She has appeared on PBS NewsHour, Meet the Press, Good Morning America, and the Today show, among others. Bishop Budde earned her master’s in divinity and doctor of ministry from Virginia Theological Seminary.

Klappentext

*A NEW YORK TIMES* BESTSELLER

How We Learn to Be Brave is an inspirational guide to the key junctures in life that, if navigated with faith and discernment, pave the way for us to become our most courageous selves, by the bishop of the famed Episcopal Diocese of Washington, D.C.
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On January 21, 2025, many Americans were introduced to Bishop Mariann Budde thanks to what The New York Times* called “an extraordinary act of public resistance.” During her prayer service for Donald J. Trump’s second inauguration, Bishop Budde addressed the president directly, imploring him “to have mercy on the people in our country who are scared now,” from those who are part of the LGBTQ+ community to immigrants and refugees.

But for Bishop Budde, this moment was the culmination of a lifetime spent thinking about those pivot points when we’re called on to push past our fears and act with strength. With How We Learn to Be Brave, she teaches us that being brave is not a singular occurrence; it’s a journey that we can choose to undertake every day.

Here, Bishop Budde explores the full range of decisive moments, from the most visible and dramatic (the decision to go), to the internal and personal (the decision to stay), to brave choices made with an eye toward the future (the decision to start), those born of suffering (the decision to accept that which we did not choose), and those that come unexpectedly (the decision to step up to the plate). Drawing on examples ranging from Harry Potter to the Gospel According to Luke, she seamlessly weaves together personal experiences with stories from scripture, history, and pop culture to underscore both the universality of these moments and the particular call each one of us must heed when they arrive.

With Bishop Budde’s wisdom, readers will learn to live and to respond according to their true beliefs and in ways that align with their best selves. How We Learn to Be Brave will provide much-needed fortitude and insight to anyone searching for answers in uncertain times.

Leseprobe
We all want to be brave when it counts-to be the one who steps up, leans in, and does the right thing when it matters most. We want to bring our best selves when we're called upon, to speak with clarity and conviction in a pivotal situation.

This book is about those decisive moments when we are called to act with courage and, much to our own amazement, we do.

Although the more dramatic moments seem to catch us by surprise, looking through the wider lens of our lives, we can see that the acts of bravery that astonish even us are not isolated events. In this book, I examine life through that wider lens in hope that you, reader, will realize that you have all the raw material you need to live with courage and purpose in your decisive moments, and all the moments that precede and follow them.

Decisive moments are marking events. They stand out in our memory and are what others often remember about us. We feel a rush of adrenaline, making us acutely aware of what's happening. We feel alive-so much so that the rest of our lives can feel dull and uninspired by comparison. Yet decisive moments are almost always preceded by seasons of preparation, and they are followed by an equally important season of alignment, in which we learn to live according to what the decisive moments revealed, clarified, or set in motion. How we prepare for decisive moments determines our ability to step up to them when they come, and how we live in light of o…