[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 46 (Monday, March 13, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3830-S3831]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        DR. RICHARD C. HALVERSON

  Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, last Friday marked the official last day of 
duty for our Senate Chaplain, the Reverend Richard C. Halverson. I want 
to take just a moment to pay tribute to his service to the Senate as an 
institution and a word of thanks for his ministry to Senators as 
individuals.
  [[Page S3831]] Dr. Halverson came to us in 1981 after an already 
distinguished pastorate at Bethesda's Fourth Presbyterian Church. 
There, as here, he tried to build a strong community--a community that 
supported each other and strengthened each other's faith.
  Dr. Halverson was not a spiritual leader as much as he was a 
spiritual coalition builder. He knew that the needs of Senators were so 
unique that any chaplain had to do more than pray for us once a day. He 
knew that cultivating faith and goodwill required more than the skills 
of a single professional clergyman. That Reverend Halverson led us to 
appreciate and seek out the spiritual strengths in each other was 
perhaps his greatest achievement as chaplain.
  To those who view the Senate on C-SPAN or even from the inside 
vantage point of the press galleries, the office of Senate Chaplain may 
appear to be superfluous. But, Dr. Halverson's gentle outreach to all 
Senators--of both parties and of all religious denominations--made the 
chaplaincy a living example of exactly the kind of men and women we all 
strive to be: kind, forgiving, honorable, and joyful. I believe that 
most Americans support the idea that these qualities ought to exist 
somewhere in the hustle and bustle of what goes on under this great 
Capitol dome.
  I, for one, will miss hearing his cheerful ``God bless you'' when 
passing him in the corridors. There is not a one of us here who would 
not admit to feeling better upon hearing that; sometimes it changed the 
perspective of the entire day.
  His ministry here has been well-served and now his retirement is 
well-deserved. I wish to join all Senators in wishing Dr. Halverson a 
rewarding and happy retirement.


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