To serve as Chaplain for the U.S. House of Representatives is truly an honor and a privilege. To be both a minister of the Lord and an officer serving the United States government responds to a twofold call to serve others and offer prayer that unites Heaven and Earth.
With 435 Members in the House and their staffs, plus all the other wonderful people who serve here with committee work or in the Chamber, including teenage Pages, my pastoral duties are many and varied. My goal is to meet the needs of this working community on a personal level. The problems that weigh on hearts and the confusion that at times blocks clarity of thinking become my concerns.
The formal prayer before each legislative session of Congress, and even before days of pro forma sessions, casts a light on the day that awakens faith and calls forth a nation to stand with its leaders and affirm: “In God We Trust.” But daily prayer for the Members of the House cannot end there.
I ask people across this great country to join me in praying for the Members of the House of Representatives. Know the Member of your congressional district by name and raise his or her name before God each day with us here in the nation’s capital.
Pray for me, also, that I may be always rooted in prayer and a good instrument for accomplishing God’s holy will here. Only by being free in the Spirit can I serve all the people here, regardless of their faith persuasion or denomination. Only by listening attentively to each person can I offer good counsel, encouragement, and gentle correction.
Thank you for your interest in and support of the Members of the House.
Most Gracious God, as the members of this great chamber gather to conduct the business of our nation, we pause to remember the lives of the women and men who fought and died on the battlefields of wars at home and abroad so that we may have the privilege of open talk and debate. We honor their sacrifice by setting aside differences and working for the common good of humanity. Guide the hearts and minds of these before you now that they may govern with their hearts set on love and justice, compassion and peace. Strengthen them for the weighty decisions that they face. Empower them to serve You, by faithfully serving the people they represent, including those whose voices are rarely heard. These things we pray to you Father, through your Son Jesus, by the power of your Holy Spirit. Amen
“Through creation's rationality, God himself confronts us. Physics, biology, all the sciences generally, have offered us an account of the new and unheard of creation. Such great, new images help us to know the Creator's face. They remind us, yes, that in the beginning, and in the depth of every being, stands the Creator Spirit. The world has not issued forth from darkness and absurdity. It resonates intelligence, freedom, the beauty that is love. Seeing all this gives us the courage that makes living possible and makes us able to take up confidently on our shoulders the adventure of life.”
—Joseph Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI)
Lenten sermons 1981
Honorary Co–Hosts
Congressmen Andre Carson & Keith Ellison
Cordially invite you to attend a
Ramadan Iftar Reception
Wednesday, September 24
6:30 pm – 8:30 pm
(for entrance please arrive by 7:00 pm)
2141 RHOB
To rsvp, send an email to congressional.iftar@gmail.com by 12:00 pm September 23.
Please include number of guest and their full names.
Sponsored by, their Excellencies, the Ambassadors of
The Kingdom of Bahrain
The Federal Republic of Nigeria
The United Arab Emirates
in cooperation with the Congressional Muslim Staffers Association