Less than a day after the former president’s accident, pastors nationwide addressed their shocked and frightened congregations on Sunday morning. In Visalia, a conservative evangelical church in California’s Central Valley, the pastor reminded the congregation that trumpets symbolize judgment for Christians during his Sunday sermon.
The Rev. Joel Renkema of Visalia Christian Reformed Church referred to Donald Trump’s accident on Saturday as a «trumpet blast,» calling it a «clear and obvious message to our country.» He emphasized the need to end the «hating and demonizing of our opponents» amidst the out-of-control political discourse.
«This is a warning shot!» Renkema proclaimed. «Can we hear it? Will we listen?»
By the time congregations gathered for services across the country on Sunday, less than 24 hours had passed since a suspected assassination attempt on Donald Trump at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. Church leaders had little time to help their stunned congregations process this violent event in U.S. history.
Despite not being overtly religious, Trump had become a messianic figure to many hard-right Christians in the MAGA movement. Some viewed the attack on him as an assault on Christianity itself. In the midst of America’s intense divisions, numerous church leaders urgently called for calm on Sunday.
«As Americans, we all have to be horrified today at what took place not too far from here in Butler last evening,» said the Rev. Kris Stubna during his Sunday remarks at St. Paul Cathedral, a Catholic parish in Pittsburgh.
There was no indication from the Trump campaign that the former president attended church on Sunday. However, someone who spoke with him described him as almost «spiritual» about the near-assassination attempt, feeling that surviving was a «gift from God.»
Given the diverse mosaic of Christian communities, responses from the pulpit and the pews varied widely depending on location, denomination, and demographics.
Some evangelical leaders made subtle references to «enemies» and «tests» of faith without specifically mentioning Trump or the accident. Others, particularly those affiliated with the fast-growing Christian supremacist group known as the New Apostolic Reformation, mentioned Trump by name in their sermons and declared spiritual warfare against his opponents.