[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 45 (Friday, March 10, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3761-S3763]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 RICHARD C. HALVERSON, SENATE CHAPLAIN

  Mr. DOLE. Mr. President, as the Acting President pro tempore noted, 
today marks the end of Dr. Richard Halverson's 14 years as Chaplain of 
the Senate.
  Some people say that the Senate Chaplain has one of the best jobs in 
Washington. After all, whenever he speaks, all Senators are quiet. And 
that is a luxury we do not extend to anybody else.
  I joined with many Senators in saluting Dr. Halverson when he 
announced his retirement last year. But I wish to take a minute this 
morning to once again thank Dr. Halverson for his service, his 
dedication, and his friendship. He should also be thanked for his 
patience and for agreeing to stay on for many months while we searched 
for someone to fill his shoes. And we look forward to Dr. Ogilvie's 
first official day as Chaplain on Monday.
  I know that all Senators join me in wishing Dr. Halverson and his 
wife, Doris, many, many more years of health and happiness.
  Several Senators addressed the Chair.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Oklahoma.


                      Congratulating Dr. Halverson

  Mr. NICKLES. Mr. President, I join with the majority leader in 
congratulating Dr. Halverson for his 14-plus years of service to the 
U.S. Senate, not only to the Senate as a body but to each and every 
Member of this group of Senators, and also to each and every member of 
the entire Capitol complex. I have had the pleasure of watching, 
working with, and worshiping with Dr. Halverson, and in his presence he 
emanates love. He emanates love in his actions, in his words, and by 
his presence. He has been a mentor to me and countless others, but also 
to our staffs and to the elevator operators and to the interns and to 
the pages. He has shown his love by his actions, and we have really 
been blessed by his presence. For his years of service we are very 
grateful. Many of us are eternally grateful, and we thank him for that.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Alabama.


              Tribute to the Reverend Richard C. Halverson

  Mr. HEFLIN. Mr. President, our Senate Chaplain, Dr. Richard C. 
Halverson, our dear friend, is retiring today and has delivered his 
last official prayer. He has been a great Chaplain. During his tenure, 
Dr. Halverson has proved himself over and over again, not only to be a 
comforting spiritual guide but also a wonderful friend and adviser to 
[[Page S3762]] the entire Senate family, which includes all of its 
workers: elevator operators, the police, the pages, the waitresses, the 
waiters, the electricians. Every conceivable worker has in some way or 
form felt his influence. His ministering support has been helpful to us 
immeasurably as we wrestled with difficult personal, political, and 
policy issues.
  While he is not a Catholic and I am not a Catholic, it seems to me 
that the Catholic Church has a title that is befitting Dr. Halverson, 
and that is ``Father.'' He is father of the entire Senate family and we 
want to wish him well.
  The Chaplain of the Senate is one of its 5 officers, and probably its 
most visible. Many people around the country watch as he opens the 
Senate's day with a prayer, or introduces the guest Chaplain to conduct 
the prayer. Dr. Halverson has been superb at arranging for guest 
Chaplains, thereby giving wide representation to the many diverse 
religious denominations in our Nation. As Chaplain, he has provided 
pastoral services to Members and our staffs, most of whom are far away 
from their own churches and ministers as well as to the entire Senate 
family. His soothing countenance and understanding manner have made us 
feel more at home here in the Senate.
  Beginning his service on February 2, 1981, the Reverend Dr. Richard 
Halverson is the 60th Senate Chaplain. A native of North Dakota, he is 
a graduate of Wheaton College and the Princeton Theological Seminary. 
He has been awarded honorary doctoral degrees by Wheaton and Gordon 
Colleges, and has served churches in Kansas City, MO; Coalinga and 
Hollywood, CA; and for 23 years at his last pastorate at the Fourth 
Presbyterian Church in Bethesda, MD.
  Dr. Halverson has been deeply involved as an associate in the 
International Prayer Breakfast movement in Washington, and I have had 
the personal pleasure of working with him since coming to the Senate. 
He has been active with this prayer breakfast for almost 40 years. He 
has served as chairman of the board of World Vision and president of 
Concern Ministries. He has authored several books, including ``A Day at 
a Time,'' ``Be Yourself . . . and God's,'' ``Between Sundays,'' ``No 
Greater Power,'' and ``We the People.''
  He has traveled extensively through his associations with World 
Vision, the prayer breakfast movement, and pastors' and leaders' 
conferences in Asia, Australia, South America, Africa, and Europe.
  Mr. President, Dick Halverson is an outstanding example of why the 
Senate has always had a Chaplain. He has been completely devoted to the 
Senate and we are grateful for his many years of service. We sincerely 
appreciate him, we will miss him, and we wish him and his wonderful 
wife, Doris, all the best as they move on to a well-deserved 
retirement. Dr. Halverson has left his mark on this body, and it will 
not be the same without him. The Senate is better for having had his 
guidance and wisdom for 14 years.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from New Mexico.


           Thank You, Dick Halverson, On Behalf Of All Of Us

  Mr. DOMENICI. Mr. President, the Book of Sirach, as I interpret it, 
tells us that from what comes out of our lips we will know what is in 
our hearts. Frankly, I want to say that there can be no doubt what is 
in Dick Halverson's heart. For he has the kindest, most loving words at 
his lips for everyone, all the time, of anybody I have ever known. He 
has been a personal spiritual influence on this Senator and many 
others. And that is not all. The people of this place were all part of 
his mission. I do not think it should go unnoticed that, instead of 
just Senators saying some kind remarks that he is entitled to, that 
there are many around the Senate who wish they could be here so they 
could say thank you.
  I do not know how to do that, really, on behalf of all of them, but 
at least I will try, and say: Dick, we love you. We think you are one 
of the finest things that ever happened to this place. I hope that I 
speak for the thousands of non-Senators that you chose to help, of all 
religions, all creeds, all walks of life. Thank you very much.
  I yield the floor.
  Several Senators addressed the Chair.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Georgia.


              The Example of Chaplain Richard C. Halverson

  Mr. NUNN. Mr. President, echoing the remarks of my friend from New 
Mexico, I think it would truly be a unique hour in the history of the 
Senate if we could let the policemen and the maids and the janitors 
come up for an hour and talk about Dick Halverson.
  None of us could express what this whole family of the Senate would 
say about this wonderful man who is a devoted follower of Jesus and who 
lives that example every day, more so than any person I have ever 
observed in my life; and whose religion is not only through the spoken 
word, but most of all through example.
  Benjamin Franklin, who first suggested that sessions of the then-
Continental Congress be opened with prayer, once said that true human 
happiness is produced not so much by great pieces of good fortune that 
seldom happen, as by little advantages that occur every day.
  The Members of the Senate have enjoyed such daily advantages--I would 
not really call them small--having been blessed over the past 14 years 
by the thoughtful opening prayers of the Chaplain of the Senate, Dr. 
Richard Halverson.
  In all that time, Dr. Halverson has been a real pastor to the Senate 
as a whole, sharing our long sessions, agonizing with us at times of 
difficult decisions, and helping us wrestle with the great moral 
concerns of our Nation. He has been there for each of us from the 
majority leader to the policemen to the waiters, conscious of the 
special pressures of our responsibilities, and of the pressures those 
responsibilities place on our families. He has brought to his duties a 
deep compassion and a deep concern for the moral climate of our Nation. 
He has shared his knowledge of the Scriptures and the thoughts of great 
spiritual leaders through the ages from many faiths, bringing to our 
attention passages from books and poems and his own meditations that he 
thought would be helpful to us as a body, through his prayers and 
pastoral letters, and as individuals in a variety of thoughtful ways.
  Before he came to minister to the Senate, Dr. Halverson ministered to 
Presbyterian congregations from the Midwest to Hollywood to Maryland. 
We have benefited from his long experience and understanding of human 
frailty and human needs, and of the capacity of human beings to be 
compassionate, wise, and courageous as well. A committed follower of 
Jesus who lives his beliefs, he has never tried to impose his personal 
beliefs, but has worked hard to help us live up to ours, and to help us 
find the wellsprings of moral and ethical action as legislators and 
leaders.
  I would like to think I speak on behalf, as the Senator from New 
Mexico has, of everyone here, the thousands of people in the Senate 
family, when we say to Dick Halverson, our friend, our colleague, our 
mentor, our adviser, and most of all our example: Thank you and God 
bless you and your family.
  Several Senators addressed the Chair.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Colorado.


               Dr. Halverson, Chaplain With An Open Heart

  Mr. CAMPBELL. Mr. President, I do not have a formal statement but I 
add my best wishes to Dr. Halverson. I am reminded that when Jesus was 
on the cross, he forgave a prostitute and a thief. I think there are 
very few people in the world that have hearts as open and as forgiving 
as Dr. Halverson.
  Three years ago, in a discussion about crime, Dr. Halverson and I 
decided to try to bring some gang members to Washington on the day of 
the National Prayer Breakfast. So the next year we did, and this year 
was the second time we did that. We brought, as I remember, about 35 
gang members. These are some pretty tough youngsters, the hoods, they 
are called, Crips and Bloods and Inca Boys and so on. We tried, through 
Dr. Halverson's leadership, to take them to the National Cathedral on 
the day of the Prayer Breakfast, and tried to show them a little 
different way of conducting their lives.
  I know Dr. Halverson has that same attitude as Jesus himself, that 
there 
[[Page S3763]] should be forgiveness in all of our hearts. No one is 
lost if you really to try to help them.
  I certainly wish him good luck. I want him to know that program he 
started now will be in its third year. I intend, with the help of my 
colleagues, to carry that on.
  My best wishes.
  I yield the floor.
  Several Senators addressed the Chair.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Alaska is 
recognized.


                        Dr. Halverson, A Brother

  Mr. STEVENS. Mr. President, Dr. Halverson is a good example of why we 
should think twice about term limits. These past 14 years have gone by 
so quickly for those of us who have participated in the Senate Prayer 
Breakfast weekly. I know many are here who have done that, who have 
gone on Wednesday morning. The one thing that really drew us to that 
was not our participation with our colleagues, but it was the magnet of 
Dr. Halverson. We have developed the concept of calling each other 
brother, and I really and truly feel a sense of being a brother to Dr. 
Halverson.
  Many of us have come through periods of great strain in our lives 
while still serving in the Senate. If there has been one steadying hand 
in this Senate to all of us, it has been Dick Halverson. In terms of 
just the camaraderie that surrounds the breakfast table on Wednesday 
morning, he always has something to add to really bring a little 
sparkle into life before the breakfast starts. Particularly, I recall, 
as Senator Nunn did, the times when we would go around the table and 
ask if anyone knew of any person who was connected with the Senate who 
ought to be remembered in our prayers. And, invariably, Reverend 
Halverson would tell us of members of the staff or a member of the 
family of a member of the staff or a person who was formerly with the 
Senate, to bring back to us the reality of the world outside of the 
beltway, outside of, really, the formality of the Senate.
  I cannot remember the number of times we have conferred about the 
Presidential Prayer Breakfast over the years. I really think one of the 
guiding forces that has kept that great institution going and made it 
so meaningful, as the Senator from Colorado said, to people beyond the 
scope of our lives, is Dick Halverson.
  I suggested several years ago that we start inviting a representative 
from each of the State legislatures to come to the Presidential Prayer 
Breakfast and that has become meaningful, due to the work of Dr. 
Halverson and Doug Coe who, together, have brought so many people into 
the family of Christ, working together with us here in the Senate 
Prayer Breakfast.
  We shall miss his leadership, not only here opening the Senate in the 
morning, but we shall miss his friendship as we pass one another in the 
hall and as he comes by at the lunch table, or as he just takes time to 
visit with us here on the floor.
  I have seen Members of the Senate retire, and we have expressed here 
on the floor our regret. But this is a retirement that will affect each 
of our lives, I think. We look forward to his successor and developing 
a relationship with his successor. But in my life, and particularly in 
terms of my approach to religion as I see it, I shall miss the steady 
hand of Richard Halverson. And I regret deeply that the time has passed 
so fast.
  Mr. LIEBERMAN addressed the Chair.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Connecticut.
  Mr. LIEBERMAN. I thank the Chair.


                 The Reverend Dr. Richard C. Halverson

  Mr. LIEBERMAN. Mr. President, I am really honored to have the 
opportunity to join in an expression of gratitude and tribute and, 
really, thanks to Chaplain Halverson.
  His presence has really enriched the 6 years that I have been 
privileged to be in the U.S. Senate--by the warmth and grace of his 
personality, by the strength of his faith, and by the profound depth of 
his humanity and kindliness, the spirit of kindliness which just emits 
from him all the time.
  He also has reminded us, by his daily public words as Chaplain, of 
the words that are over the door to the Chamber, which are ``In God We 
Trust.'' And he has reminded us, in the words of the Psalmist, that the 
honor that we have been given here comes from the Lord. With that 
recognition, I think he has helped us proceed with more of both a sense 
of humility and a sense of purpose than we would otherwise have had.
  Chaplain Halverson is a true student of both the Old and the New 
Testament. He is a son of both the Old and the New Testament. And I 
think in his life he has been an exemplar of the values that are 
contained in the aspirations that are expressed for those of us here in 
his daily life.
  So I cannot thank him enough. I cannot tell him how much I hope we 
have the opportunity to stay in touch. And I can benefit from his 
counsel and personal warmth and strength.
  I wish him all of God's blessings with his family in the years ahead.
  I thank the Chair.
  Several Senators addressed the Chair.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Texas.


                 The Reverend Dr. Richard C. Halverson

  Mrs. HUTCHISON. Thank you, Mr. President.
  Mr. President, I want to add to the accolades that are being given 
this morning to a wonderful leader in the U.S. Senate, and they are 
well deserved.
  I have been here a short time compared to many of my compatriots who 
are talking today. But when I came the first day, I remember getting an 
invitation from Reverend Halverson to come to the weekly prayer 
breakfast that the Senate holds. I must say, when I started going to 
those, I felt that was the one hour that we had together on a very 
bipartisan basis--Jewish Members, Catholic Members, Baptist Members, 
Episcopalian Members--all coming together to share a quiet moment in an 
otherwise sometimes stormy week.
  It has made a difference in my service in the Senate, and I cannot 
imagine that we would have been so strong had we not had the leadership 
of Reverend Halverson telling us how very important it was for us to 
come together in this very bipartisan way to talk about the things that 
bring us together rather than the things that sometimes divide us on 
this floor.
  I have heard Members who have been here for years talk about personal 
things that he has done for members of their staff who were in trouble. 
The personal testimonies are legion around here about this man.
  We will all miss him. But we will all remember what a strong leader 
he has been and how much better off we are for having him among us.
  So I know all of us wish him Godspeed, but not farewell, because we 
hope that he will be back many times in the future.
  Thank you, Mr. President.
  Mr. BURNS addressed the Chair.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Montana.


                 The Reverend Dr. Richard C. Halverson

  Mr. BURNS. Thank you, Mr. President.
  Mr. President, it is a long way from Pingree, ND, to the Halls of the 
U.S. Senate. And I would like to just be a part of a book that could be 
written about this young man's life.
  We sort of entered his life when we came here in 1989, and they say 
in every man's life or every person's life there has to be what we call 
in the West, in the corral, a snubbing post--something to latch onto, 
something that is permanent, that has value, and those values were 
drawn from the soils of the High Plains and Northern High Plains of 
this great country. I guess those sorts of personalities blend, and 
they grow together.
  That is what happened when I met Dr. Halverson. Not only does he 
write the prayer and give the prayer for this body on a daily basis, 
but he is counselor to us all in the long hours, and to our staffs. All 
of us have experienced tragedies in our staffs' lives and in our 
personal lives, and he was there to be a minister.
  That will not be forgotten by this family and by this man who stands 
among the peers in this body.
  So we say ``farewell,'' not ``goodbye''--just farewell. We hope that 
he does not cut us out of his life. We hope he will come by and share 
some North Dakota stories with us.
  And we wish him Godspeed.
  

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