[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 102 (Monday, July 27, 1998)]
[House]
[Page H6457]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                                 PRAYER

  The Chaplain, Reverend James David Ford, D.D., offered the following 
prayer:
  Let us pray.
  We gather together for prayer as we do every day when we ask for 
guidance and blessing for the day ahead.
  But on this day, O God, we come with hearts that are saddened and 
with souls distressed with the knowledge that violence has been done to 
our community. As we gather for our prayer we come as people who have 
the honor of service in this special place, but today we mourn the loss 
of two of our colleagues who gave their lives so others would live.
  From this time onward the names of Jacob Chestnut and John Gibson 
will be remembered with honor and dignity and praise and thanksgiving. 
O loving and eternal God, whose mercies are without end, we ask Your 
blessing upon the families of these men. Comfort them in their sorrow, 
strengthen them in their need, grant solace and peace in their hearts. 
You have promised, O God, that though we walk through the valley of the 
shadow of death, You are with us with Your grace and Your promise of 
eternal life.
  We also remember in our prayer Angela Dickerson and offer our prayers 
for her recovery. May Your spirit be with her and her family and 
sustain them in the days ahead.
  We pray, O loving God, that your strong hand will give a special 
blessing to those men and women who have devoted their lives to the 
protection of all of us who work in our Capitol, and also the many who 
visit this place. For all the police who serve with faithfulness and 
dedication and who mourn the loss of two of their own, we ask for Your 
healing presence. Be with them in their grief.
  May your peace, O God, that passes all human understanding, be with 
all who mourn, now and evermore. Amen.

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