[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 41 (Thursday, March 13, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3649-S3650]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 IN GRATITUDE TO CHAPLAIN LLOYD OGILVIE

  Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, while reflecting on Dr. Ogilvie's tenure as 
Senate Chaplain, I came across a letter of his dated March 31, 1995. He 
was just 3 weeks on the job. You could already see his devotion not 
only to his official duties as Senate Chaplain, but his unofficial 
duties as the spiritual leader of the entire Senate family.
  In that letter, he writes about the importance of interceding 
``personally'' for Senators--for praying for Members, for our families, 
and for our staff. He says that he is just as close as a phone call and 
provides not only his work phone number, but his home phone number, as 
well. He asks that we keep him up-to-date about the needs of others in 
the Senate family. And he talks about building a ``caring network of 
people who support each other.''
  Yes, this is a man who knew early on the Senate needs more than one 
prayer at the start of each day. We needed a lot of support from him, 
from God, and from each other. And that is exactly the kind of 
spiritual climate Lloyd Ogilvie fostered for 8 years as Senate 
Chaplain.
  He conducted Bible studies--which Karyn and I and many in this 
Chamber regularly attended. He hosted weekly prayer breakfasts and 
small faith groups. He researched theological questions and advised us 
on the great moral issues of our times. And when he took time to offer 
his own private thoughts to God, he always forwarded our petitions with 
his.
  He even filled in at the last minute when my office needed a third 
baseman on our Senate softball team. Now that is going above and beyond 
the call of duty.
  Dr. Ogilvie consoled us during our darkest hours--September 11th, the 
October anthrax attacks, the loss of two Capitol Police officers and 
three Senate colleagues come to mind. But he was also there for us 
every day. To help us cope with the stress of our jobs. To help us 
overcome struggles in our personal lives. And, most of all, to help us 
keep things in perspective by reminding us we serve the United States 
in our offices, but we serve God in our lives.
  So I simply want to say thank you to Dr. Ogilvie, for his many 
prayers on our behalf, for the many hours he dedicated to his position, 
and for being there--as the spiritual leader of the Senate family--
every day in the Chamber and every day in our lives.
  And, lastly, I want to thank him for being such a wonderful and 
supportive friend. I wish him the best in California with Mary Jane. 
And though Karyn and I will miss them both dearly, we are certain we 
will hear from them because they will always be family. And there is 
nothing more precious to the Ogilvies--as they have demonstrated time 
and again--than family.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Sununu). The minority leader.
  Mr. DASCHLE. Mr. President, in a few moments the Senate will offer a 
resolution which honors a member of our Senate family who, as the 
majority leader noted, will be leaving us soon. Lloyd Ogilvie has the 
appreciation of every one of the Members of this body. I join in 
expressing my heartfelt appreciation to him and his family as they 
begin the next chapter in their lives.
  A Senate chaplain was once asked: You pray for the Senate? He 
replied, no, I look at those Senators as I stand on the dais and I pray 
for the country.
  For the last 8 years, Lloyd Ogilvie has done a lot of praying--for 
our Nation, for the Members of this Senate, and for our families, for 
our staffs, and all the people who work in this building, and for those 
who come to visit the Senate from all over the world. He has prayed for 
us and with us. For many of us, he has been a source of guidance and 
support. We are grateful to him for his wisdom, for his friendship, and 
for his service to this Senate and our Nation.

[[Page S3650]]

  The Senate has been through many challenges these last 8 years, as 
the majority leader has noted. During those challenges, many of us have 
found hope and direction in Dr. Ogilvie's words. He comforted us and 
led us through the deaths of three of our colleagues, our friends John 
Chafee, Paul Coverdell, and Paul Wellstone. He consoled us when two 
fine, brave members of the Capitol Police, officers J.J. Chestnut and 
Detective John Gibson, were murdered guarding this building. He helped 
us find courage and faith after our Nation was attacked on September 
11, and again after the anthrax attack that closed the Hart Building. 
He has helped many of us grapple with the profound moral and spiritual 
questions that underscore all questions of public policy.
  One lesson Dr. Ogilvie has always stressed is the importance of 
keeping our priorities straight. In his words: Put God first, then 
family, then Nation, then career, and things will turn out as they are 
meant to.
  Now Dr. Ogilvie is living that lesson. He is putting his family ahead 
of his career and returning to California to be with and care for 
another treasured member of our Senate family, his wife Mary Jane. As 
much as we will miss him, we respect his decision greatly.
  Everyone who knows Lloyd Ogilvie knows he has a special place in his 
heart for St. Andrew. That seems fitting for two reasons. The first and 
most obvious reason is that St. Andrew is the patron saint of Scotland, 
and we all know how proud Dr. Ogilvie is of his family's roots in that 
beautiful country. The other reason is St. Andrew never got the 
attention he deserved. In the Bible, it was Andrew's brother, Peter, 
who got the headlines, even though it was Andrew who first recognized 
that Jesus was an extraordinary teacher. It was Andrew who told Peter 
to pay attention to Jesus' words.
  Here in the Senate, it is Senators who get most of the headlines. But 
for many of us for the last 8 years it is Lloyd Ogilvie who has been 
there to remind us of the important lessons.
  Our thanks and our prayers will go to Lloyd Ogilvie as he returns to 
California. We wish him and Mary Jane, their children, Andrew, Scott 
and Heather, and their grandchildren, much happiness in the days, 
months, and years ahead.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Mississippi.
  Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I know a vote was scheduled and many wish to 
speak, but I ask unanimous consent the vote may be delayed so I may 
speak at this time. I feel compelled to ask for that time so I may 
speak about our friend, Lloyd Ogilvie.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. LOTT. The first time I heard Lloyd Ogilvie speak, it was in a 
prayer, and I remember looking up because I thought I had just heard 
what God's voice must sound like. What a magnificent voice he has. What 
a magnificent prayer he always prayed. But as Benjamin Franklin said:

       Well done is better than well said.

  In spite of the magnificent messages he has delivered on this floor, 
his prayers, and our private counsel sessions with him, what he has 
done has been even more valuable; the way he has come to us all in 
times of great celebration and times of stress and times of despair. In 
the good times and the bad times he has been there for me and for many 
of us--all of us, at one time or another. In spite of all the good 
things he said, what he has done will be what will stay with us the 
longest.
  Each morning I get up, the first thing I read is ``One Quiet 
Moment,'' a passage from the Bible and a brief prayer that Lloyd 
Ogilvie prepared for all of us. It begins my days in the right way. 
Many nights, just before I go to sleep, I pray for Lloyd and Mary Jane, 
I pray for their safety, and for their future.
  He has been a magnificent influence on this body and on me 
personally.
  This morning I looked up the definition of ``chaplain,'' and it is 
not enough to describe what he did. He wasn't just a person who was a 
counselor to this institution and our whole family. I looked up 
``pastor''--maybe that was the right word. That wasn't sufficient 
either because he was more than just a pastor to a flock in a narrow 
area.
  No, he has been a spiritual counselor in the broadest sense. The 
Bible says, in Proverbs:

       Where there is no vision the people perish.

  That, of course, refers to the way we really should think about the 
vision. I think it is true for a country, a country that seeks 
democracy and freedom and liberty. But it also is true in the broader 
sense. Lloyd has given us a vision of what life is really about. Thank 
you, Lloyd John Ogilvie. Well done--ay.

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