Matthew Shepard was in the Room Where It Happened

 

by Pa Rock

Citizen Journalist

It has been over twenty-six years since Matthew Shepard, a 21-year-old college student at the University of Wyoming, was drinking in a bar in Laramie when he was lured away by two other young men, also in their twenties, who beat, robbed and tortured the young gay man and left him to die tied to a barbed-wire fence in an isolated location.  Matthew, who suffered extensive head injuries, passed away six days later at a hospital in Colorado.

Shepard's parents, Dennis and Judy, have worked tirelessly for over two decades to ensure that Matthew's life and story were not forgotten, but during that time they never established a final resting place for their son's ashes out of fear that the site would be desecrated.  In late October of 2018, twenty years and two weeks after his death, Matthew Shepard was finally laid to rest inside of the Washington National Cathedral in Washington, DC, a place where Presidents come to pray and where a young victim of a gay hate crime would be able to rest in peaceful repose forever.

The story of Matthew Shepard's interment resurfaced in the news the day after Trump's inauguration when Episcopal Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde addressed the new President directly in a presidential prayer service at the National Cathedral and encouraged him to show some mercy and compassion toward migrants and members of the LGBTQ community.  Her straightforward remarks were hailed by many as a clear demonstration of Christian ideals being presented in a truth-to-power setting, and condemned by many for bringing political views into a religious service.   But Bishop Budde was resolute as she presented the politician with a Christian perspective - and the remains of Matthew Shepard were in the room where it happened.

Bishop Budde is also the reason that Matthew Shepard's ashes are interred in the National Cathedral.  Several years ago when she learned that his parents were reluctant to establish a permanent resting place for their son out of a fear that it would be desecrated, the Bishop reached out to the Shepard's and offered his their son's ashes sanctuary in the National Cathedral.  After the parents accepted Bishop Budde's offer, she assisted fellow Episcopal Bishop Gene Robinson, the first openly gay priest to be consecrated Bishop in a major Christian denomination, in the belated funeral service.

My respect for Episcopalians is ascending.