[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 45 (Friday, March 10, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3764-S3766]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


  [[Page S3764]] I yield the floor.
               A FOND FAREWELL TO REV. RICHARD HALVERSON

  Mr. COATS. Mr. President, in 1988, when I ran for reelection to the 
House of Representatives, I was, shortly after that both surprised and 
also very privileged to be considered for appointment to fill the 
vacancy created when Senator Dan Quayle was elected to the Vice 
Presidency. I was fortunate enough to receive that appointment to the 
Senate. I then resigned my House seat, and I was appointed to the 
Senate beginning in 1989.
  I had several thoughts when that decision came down, but one of the 
very first thoughts that I had was the fact that I would have the 
privilege of serving in an institution in which Rev. Dick Halverson was 
Chaplain. We are fortunate to have been graduates of the same 
institution, Wheaton College.
  I followed Chaplain Halverson's career as minister of the Fourth 
Presbyterian Church and his chaplaincy here in the Senate. So I had an 
inkling of the kind of man he was and deemed it a great privilege to be 
able to come here and serve with him.
  I have observed few, if any, people that in my opinion better 
exemplify the walk of the Lord and the love of the Lord than Dr. 
Halverson. He has been a great inspiration to me. He is a humble 
servant of God.
  We see him publicly, and most of the world sees him publicly, giving 
the opening prayer to the Senate. And those of us who are privileged to 
serve in the Senate see him on Wednesday morning in our Senate prayer 
breakfast. We have the opportunity to see him on the floor as he 
listens to our debate. And we know of his work behind the scenes, in 
total confidentiality, and his counsel to the Senators.
  But what most do not see is the work that Dr. Halverson has done 
throughout the Senate for the Senate family. I think the thing I 
appreciate the most about Dick Halverson is that he sees us as God sees 
us. He sees us all as one. He shows respect to all persons. It is the 
example of Christ embodied in this man, who has served us so faithfully 
as our Chaplain.
  We have heard some wonderful tributes here this morning. But I do not 
think any of the tributes that we can provide could begin to equal the 
tributes that we would hear if the guards and the cooks and the clerks 
and the staff and all those who serve us in the U.S. Senate could come 
to this floor and tell us what Dr. Halverson has meant in their lives. 
The guard at the door, the cook in the kitchen, the maintenance man 
working in the basement, and the staffers working in the back offices, 
are just as important to Dr. Halverson's ministry as the Senators who 
speak on this floor. That is a story that will not really be told and 
which most of the world has not heard. But that is the example of a 
Christ-like walk that has meant the most to me.
  And so, if I could, on behalf of the thousands of people who support 
us so that we can come here and stand in the spotlight, I want to pay 
tribute to Dr. Halverson and all that he has meant in their lives and 
for all that he has done. I wish he and his dear wife many, many years 
of happiness together, rest, and well-deserved relaxation. I know he 
will keep us in his thoughts and prayers as he views the Capitol from 
his apartment and looks over this city that he loves so much and this 
institution into which he has poured his life and his love. We will 
miss you deeply.
  Your successor, Dr. Ogilvie, is a fine man of God. He has huge shoes 
to fill. God's grace will allow him to do that. But you will be deeply 
missed. Your legacy lives in our hearts and in the hearts and minds of 
the thousands of people you have touched during your chaplaincy here, 
and we thank you for it.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor.
  Mr. BYRD addressed the Chair.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from West Virginia [Mr. 
Byrd] is recognized.


                      A GOOD AND FAITHFUL SERVANT

  Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, this morning, we heard the Reverend Dr. 
Richard C. Halverson offer his last prayer before the Senate. Dr. 
Halverson has been an inspiration for all of us over these many years, 
throughout which we have been blessed by his friendship, his 
fellowship, and his pastorship. And we shall miss him.
  Tennyson's words, ``I am a part of all that I have met,'' applies to 
our association with Dr. Halverson. He has ministered to us and to our 
families. When Erma, my wife, was in the hospital a few years back, he 
came to the hospital and prayed for Erma, prayed with Erma, prayed with 
me. When I lost my grandson, the oldest of our grandchildren in April 
1982, Dr. Halverson delivered the prayer and the message at the 
memorial service.
  His life has touched my life in many ways. He has inspired us with 
his prayers, with his dedication to the service here, with his 
dedication to this large family of his, with his dedication to his 
spotless Savior, Jesus Christ.
  As Dr. Halverson goes away, he takes something of us with him, but he 
leaves something of himself with us.

     ``Twas battered and scarred, and the auctioneer
     Thought it scarcely worth his while
     To waste much time on the old violin,
     But held it up with a smile:
     ``What am I bidden, good folks,'' he cried,
     ``Who'll start the bidding for me?''
     A dollar, a dollar''; then, ``Two!'' ``Only two?
     Two dollars, and who'll make it three?
     Three dollars, once; three dollars, twice;
     Going for three----'' But no,
     From the room, far back, a gray-haired man
     Came forward and picked up the bow;
     Then, wiping the dust from the old violin,
     And tightening the loose strings,
     He played a melody pure and sweet,
     As a caroling angel sings.

     The music ceased, and the auctioneer,
     With a voice that was quiet and low,
     Said: ``What am I bid for the old violin?''
     And he held it up with the bow.
     ``A thousand dollars, and who'll make it two?
     Two thousand! and who'll make it three?
     Three thousand, once, three thousand, twice,
     And going, and gone,'' said he.
     The people cheered, but some of them cried,
     ``We do not quite understand
     What changed its worth.'' Swift came the reply:
     ``The touch of a master's hand.''

     And many a man with life out of tune,
     And battered and scarred with sin,
     Is auctioned cheap to the thoughtless crowd,
     Much like the old violin.
     A ``mess of pottage,'' a glass of wine;
     A game--and he travels on.
     He is ``going'' once, and ``going'' twice,
     He's ``going'' and almost ``gone.''
     But the Master comes, and the foolish crowd
     Never can quite understand
     The worth of a soul and the change that's wrought
     By the touch of the Master's hand.

  Dr. Halverson spoke to us often about that Master from Galilee. Dr. 
Halverson was something of a master himself. As he ministered to his 
flock, he gave of himself. And he continued to serve when his body 
sought retirement. His ready smile, his kind voice, his ever-ready hand 
extended in Christian fellowship--all these, we will miss.
  We live in a very skeptical town. It is full of doubters and skeptics 
and cynics. But Dr. Halverson always represented the solid rock of 
faith, a steadfast belief in a higher power that has governed the 
destiny of this Nation from its beginnings.
  This town, and every other town in America, large and small, needs to 
turn back to the old values that made America great, the old values 
that Dr. Halverson taught and that he emulated and that he followed in 
his daily walk with us.
  Emerson, a great contemporary of Thoreau, said:

       The true test of civilization is, not the census, nor the 
     size of cities, nor the crops--no, but the kind of man the 
     country turns out.

  This country needs to return to the old values that were taught by 
Dr. Halverson. The country would turn out better men, and those of us 
who are already turned out would become better.
  Since its inception, the Christian movement has rested on the 
foundation of the personal witness of the individual believer.
  During his several valuable years among us as the Senate Chaplain, 
Dr. Richard C. Halverson has served as a twentieth-century model of 
that ageless witness--one man, though an ordained clergyman of a 
distinguished community of believers, moving among us, sharing a love 
that he borrowed from his relationship with God, shedding light in 
darkness, drying the tears of ``those who mourn,'' giving hope to the 
downcast, and, sometimes through his presence alone, reassuring 
thousands--thousands--here on Capitol Hill and, through the electronic 
eye, reassuring millions that life--even political life--has eternal 
meaning. It causes us, 
[[Page S3765]] or ought to cause us, to pause amidst the strife that we 
endure on the political battlefields, pause and be still and know that 
``I am God.''
 There is life beyond the Senate. There is a life beyond a political 
party. And that there is a life beyond this life.

  I pity--I pity--one who does not believe in immortality. I cannot 
comprehend a belief that is without God. I cannot comprehend the worth 
of a life on this Earth if there is no assurance of a life beyond the 
grave, no assurance of immortality, if there is no assurance that I 
will ever again see, with my tired eyes, my departed grandson.
  We are daily caught up in the gewgaws of political life, and our 
social life. Many of these things are, of course, worthwhile. But there 
will come a day and a time, if my mind is still clear, when I will look 
forward to crossing that mystic sea to the eternal land where Michael, 
where my parents, and the couple who raised me, and the friends of 
yesteryear will be waiting to greet me. It is up to me to be prepared, 
when the time arrives, for the narrow gate that leads home.
  No man is good. I do not pretend to be a religious man. We all have 
our faults and we all fall short of our duty. We are all unworthy. We 
get caught up each day in the little chores and the demands that are 
made upon us as public servants. It is easy to forget how really tiny 
we are, how really insignificant we are. I have often thought that I 
would like to have gone to the Moon, just to be able to look back on 
this tiny, tiny, tiny speck which we know as our earthly planet, and 
then try, while looking down from that magnificent orb, to imagine tiny 
man and how insignificant and how small man truly is--less than a 
particle of dust traveling through this ephemeral life. How vain is 
man! How proud, vainly proud, is mortal man! I sometimes wonder if I am 
not the vainest, the vainest of men.
  Even in leaving this work here as our Chaplain, Dr. Halverson has 
caused Senators today to reflect upon things that are lasting, things 
that are eternal. Darwin, in his treatise--as he expounds his theory of 
natural selection and conveys his impressions regarding the selection 
of the fittest as a microscopic organism evolves from virtual 
nothingness--speaks of a Creator. Darwin speaks of a Creator--of God.
  So it is that through all of the ages, men of all races, in all parts 
of the Earth, have believed in a Higher Power, a creator.
  Throughout Dr. Halverson's tenure as our Chaplain, he led us to a 
greater knowledge of, and a closer relationship with, our Creator, and 
more than once I have benefited from Dr. Halverson's ministry--a 
universal ministry not restricted by sectarian or even other-than-
Christian boundaries. Just as important, however, I have benefited by 
Dr. Halverson's personal friendship. That friendship has brightened my 
life and enriched my work here as a Senator, and for that, I am 
grateful to him.
  In the years that lie before Dr. Halverson, I wish him every 
happiness and every fulfillment that his exemplary spirit and pure 
heart might enjoy. And in that Great Eternal Beyond, I look forward to 
continuing the friendship and fellowship that are the promise to all of 
those whose daily walk is as Dr. Halverson's walk has been among us 
here in the U.S. Senate.
  I think of Dr. Halverson as one who exemplifies the faith of the poor 
couple who raised me. I think of my own coal miner Dad as one of the 
few truly great men whom I have met in this life. He had very little 
education acquired in the halls of learning, but he was a man who owed 
no man a penny when he died. I never heard him use God's name in vain 
in all the years that I lived with him--a humble, hard-working coal 
miner.
  And the woman who reared me from the day my mother died--I was then 1 
year old. The woman who reared me was a woman of great religious 
conviction. Not a religious fanatic--I hold no brief for religious 
fanatics or any other fanatics. She lived a simple, good life. Many 
times, when I have driven to West Virginia, arriving at 2 o'clock in 
the morning, she would open the door, and I would hear her say, 
``Robert, can I fix you something to eat?''
  And when it came time for me to return to Washington, she would say, 
``Robert, you be a good boy. I always pray for you.''
  It is that kind of ministry that touches the human heart. And it was 
that kind of ministry that Dr. Halverson gave to us here.
  As Dr. Halverson departs our company on this side of the Capitol, I 
say to Dr. Halverson, ``Well done, well done. You have served us and 
your country well, and we will never forget you.''

     Last night, I passed beside the blacksmith's door,
     And heard the anvil ring the vesper chime,
     And looking in, I saw upon the floor,
     Old hammers worn with beating years of time.
     ``How many anvils have you had,'' said I,
     ``To wear and batter all these hammers so?''
     ``Only one,'' the blacksmith said, then with twinkling eye,
     ``The anvil wears the hammers out, you know.''
     And so the Bible, the anvil of God's word,
     For centuries, skeptic blows have beat upon,
     But, though the noise of falling blows was heard,
     The anvil is unharmed, the hammers gone.

  Mr. President, I yield the floor.
  Mr. SIMON addressed the Chair.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Inhofe). The Senator from Illinois.
                 Chaplain Halverson Has Served Us Well

  Mr. SIMON. Mr. President, I would like to associate myself with the 
words of praise of Dr. Halverson that Senator Byrd just provided us. I 
cannot do it with the same eloquence. I hate to say it, the few poems I 
memorized back when I was in grade school and high school I cannot 
recite now. But I wish I had Senator Byrd's recollections or ability to 
recall things so vividly.
  Every once in a while someone says, ``Why do you need a Chaplain in 
the Senate?'' We go through the same pains and agonies that everyone 
else does, and we have, in addition, the stress of being here.
  I hope I never have to go through what the Senator from West Virginia 
has gone through, seeing a grandchild die. I cannot imagine how tough 
that must be. But I know having a Chaplain, not just for Members of the 
Senate but for our staffs--Chaplain Halverson was there to help anyone 
associated with the Senate who had problems, and the same is true of 
Chaplain Ford in the House.
  When I was in the House, I can remember one of my colleagues looked 
as if something was wrong. I sat down next to him. I said, ``Everything 
all right?''
  He said, ``I just got word that my son committed suicide.''
  I will never forget it. He needed help, and it is important to each 
of us and important to the Nation that we provide that.
  I have noticed Chaplain Halverson--yes, he is good to each of us who 
is in the Senate, but I think equally important, he is good to all the 
staff. I can remember serving in the House with someone who was always 
good to his colleagues, but he was mean to elevator operators and 
others. Frankly, I never had any respect for him, even though he was a 
person of great ability. One of the things I really appreciate about 
Chaplain Halverson's service is he was available to everyone. He has 
served this Senate, he has served all of us very well. I want to 
associate myself with the remarks of Senator Byrd.
  Mr. GORTON addressed the Chair.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Washington.
               The Impact of Chaplain Halverson on People

  Mr. GORTON. Mr. President, I would like to associate myself with the 
remarks of my friend from Illinois on the remarkable eloquence of our 
senior colleague from West Virginia. I was thinking during his remarks 
how much they will be appreciated in printed form by Chaplain Halverson 
himself during the course of his retirement. They show a thoughtfulness 
and a sense for history and our culture which is unique with our friend 
from West Virginia.
  One particular set of remarks made by my friend from Illinois were 
particularly appropriate, I think, and they had to do with the impact 
of Chaplain Halverson on the other people, other than the Members in 
the Senate.
  One of the great occasional pleasures I can remember would be to walk 
down one of the Hallways here or in one of the Senate office buildings 
with the Chaplain and see how the faces of all we passed, all of the 
people who serve us and serve this body, would simply 
[[Page S3766]] light up when they saw the face of the Chaplain and how 
he was never in too much hurry not to stop and have a good word or two 
of greeting for each and every person.
  He was truly a Chaplain not just for 100 Senators but for all of the 
broad Senate family and for those in some sudden need who were just 
here as visitors as well.
  As he retires and leave us, my own remembrance, my own memory of him 
will be of a man who comes closer in character to what we read about 
when we read about the saints and the great religious leaders in 
history, that he partakes of more of those qualities than any other 
individual whom I have been privileged to know, not just during my 
career here but during my life.
  Chaplain Halverson, at some different time and some different place, 
might well end up being nominated a saint because his character was and 
remains a saintly character, who brings joy and sustenance and strength 
and peace into the lives of all with whom he associates.
  Mr. BYRD. Mr. President, I thank both of my colleagues.
  Mr. President, I also thank Senator Dole, the majority leader, for 
his thoughtfulness in asking Senators to come to the floor today, to 
come to the Chamber and to be present when Dr. Halverson uttered his 
last prayer here in the Chamber. I think that was a very good thing to 
do, and I appreciate very much the majority leader's having done that, 
and told him so when he was here earlier.


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