[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 4 (Friday, January 28, 1994)]
[House]
[Page H]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]

                                 prayer

  The Chaplain, the Reverend Richard C. Halverson, D.D., offered the 
following prayer:
  Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost its savour, 
wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but 
to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men.--Matthew 5:13.
  Eternal God, Lord of Heaven and Earth, Ruler of the nations, Your 
Word states categorically that Your people are ``the salt of the 
earth.'' It is not conditional--if we desire or hope to be. We are. The 
impact of church organizations in the world is like dropping a 
saltshaker on food. Salt works only when it is scattered, penetrating 
and doing its work invisibly. Help us to see, patient God, that the 
real impact of the people of God on the world is invisible, not 
institutional.
  Gracious Father in Heaven, Your Word gives only one exception: We are 
the salt of the Earth, but salt which has lost its saltiness is good 
for nothing. Help those who profess to be God's people comprehend this, 
that the real work of the Church happens between Sundays, when the 
sanctuary is empty, and the people are dispersed, penetrating all 
institutions like a benevolent subversion; like secret service, not a 
parade. Help us to see that the maximum impact of the Church in the 
world is the aggregate of individuals where each is between Sundays.
  We pray in Jesus' name. Amen.

                          ____________________