[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 49 (Thursday, April 5, 2001)]
[Senate]
[Page S3461]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

                                 prayer

  The guest Chaplain, Rev. Campbell Gillon, offered the following 
prayer:
  Let us pray.
  Almighty God, on this National Tartan Day we remember pointers of the 
past. Near 700 years ago William Wallace died crusading for freedom and 
on this very date 681 years ago, our Scots forebears declared 
independence from English overlords in the Declaration of Arbroath, 
made by a parliament gathered there. So we gather at the center of this 
great Nation of all nations, itself born in a comparable Declaration of 
Independence, recognizing the influence of distant words and the 
intricate weaving of faith, kin, and clan.
  We bless Thee for a multifaceted heritage left by fellow Scots on 
this continent. From John Paul Jones, founder of the Navy; Gilbert 
Stuart, painter of George Washington; Andrew Carnegie, money-maker and 
giver; John Muir, environmentalist, creator of Yosemite National Park; 
Rev. James Blair, founder of William and Mary College, to Rev. John 
Witherspoon, signer of the Declaration of Independence. For such and 
more, we give thanks.
  And yet, O God, we know that in Thy sight, human success is but a 
passing shadow and that righteousness alone exalts a nation. For 
goodness is not a kilt we put on, nor a legacy we inherit. It must be 
sought by each one from the heart--Thy kingdom, Thy righteousness 
first, and all else will then be added.
  Lord, remind us of the far-reaching influence of a tiny country where 
literacy, that would enable all children to read Thy Word, was stressed 
from the time of John Knox. And from its pages, see that freedom can 
easily deteriorate into license; for where there is no spiritual 
vision, people perish. Grant to us all, O Lord, grace to realize daily 
that goodness and truth make us free to be our best and can help us to 
be living pointers for others to a nobler future. God bless the Senate 
in its deliberations. In Christ's name we pray. Amen.

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