Response of the 18th Episcopal District to the Address by President Trump to the Joint Session of Congress

In his first joint address to the United States Congress in his second term, President Trump made the following statement about the Kingdom of Lesotho: “Eight million dollars to promote LGBTQI+ in the African nation of Lesotho, which nobody has ever heard of." He then struggled to pronounce the country's name. Lesotho hosts the headquarters of the 18th Episcopal District in the F. C. James Centre of service and is home to dozens of primary and secondary schools sponsored by the AME Church. We have a long-standing relationship with the government of that country and I was honored to meet King Letsie III as one of my acts as the Bishop of the 18th Episcopal District. I am saddened that the President of the United States would disparage a sovereign nation in this way to make an ill-considered joke. Like many African countries, Lesotho is still coming to grips with the termination of USAID funding for vital programs. We ask the Connectional Church to continue to pray for our ministry in that country and to let people know that while President Trump may be geographically challenged, members of the African Methodist Episcopal Church do indeed know where Lesotho is.  Bishop Jeffery Cooper, Sr. Presiding Prelate, 18th Episcopal District To support the work of the 18th Episcopal District, consider one of the following options By CashApp: $18thAMEC By Check made to: 18th Episcopal District AMEC P O Box 1762 Fairburn, GA 30213

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