[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 18 (Friday, February 3, 2012)]
[House]
[Page H443]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                                 PRAYER

  Reverend Cal LeMon, First and Calvary Presbyterian Church, 
Springfield, Missouri, offered the following prayer:
  God, as You know, these walls have echoed with Your name for 
centuries.
  You see, God, we know Your name because we are Your Nation, Your 
people. To prove it, we've printed Your name on our dollar bills, 
chiseled Your name into our granite walls everywhere in this city, and 
regularly include Your name in prayers before Friday night high school 
football games.
  Therefore, since You are our God, the Prince of Peace, I ask You to 
quell the need in this room to dominate, degrade, and even denigrate.
  I ask You, God, the Healer, to rub the salve of Your Holy Spirit into 
our long-festering political wounds.
  I ask You, God, the Creator, to whisper new words, new possibilities, 
and new solutions up and down these aisles.
  Teach us, Lord, when we drop Your name, we must also be ready to drop 
to our knees again and again and learn from You how to be one nation 
under God, with liberty and justice for everyone.
  Amen.

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