Royal wedding Bishop to participate in White House protest

Bishop Michael Curry, who delivered a sermon at last week's British royal wedding, is planning to participate in a candlelight vigil and protest in front of the White House on Thursday.

Curry will be joined by leaders from Christian churches who are concerned about a "dangerous crisis of moral and political leadership at the highest levels of our government and in our churches",CNN reported on Tuesday night.

Those crises, Curry and the other Christian leaders say, put "the soul of the nation and the integrity of faith" at stake.

According to the organisers, at least 1,000 people are expected to turn out for a church service before the protest and for the protest itself, to be held on Thursday evening in Lafayette Square, a park across the street from the White House.

"This weekend I spoke about the way of love. As elders, we view bringing the Reclaiming Jesus declaration to the public square as a tangible example of how to live out that way of love," Curry said in a statement on Tuesday.

The sharply worded statement also calls "America first", a foreign-policy slogan endorsed by President Donald Trump, "theological heresy" and condemns the "normalisation of lying" and "the resurgence of white nationalism, racism, and xenophobia; misogyny; attacks on immigrants, refugees, and the poor".

"As citizens we want our government to reflect our values. As a Bishop I believe we should follow the teachings of Jesus -- who taught us to love God and love our neighbour," Curry added.

Curry, the first African-American head of the Episcopal Church, lit up St. George's Chapel at Windsor Castle on May 19, delivering an impassioned sermon on the redemptive power of love at the royal wedding of Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan Markle, reports CNN.

Curry, who has been a pastor for nearly three decades, is known for seamlessly blending spiritual and political themes in his preaching and activism.

As a bishop in North Carolina, he supported the Moral Mondays campaign, which included statehouse protests against perceived inequality.

--IANS

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