[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 24 (Monday, February 6, 2023)]
[House]
[Page H688]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                                 PRAYER

  The Chaplain, the Reverend Margaret Grun Kibben, offered the 
following prayer:
  God, You are our refuge and our strength, a very present help in 
times of trouble. We offer our prayers today asking that You provide 
the people of Turkey and Syria, who are in the throes of the 
unfathomable devastation of today's earthquake, refuge from this 
disaster and strength to endure its indiscriminate destruction.
  Be their rock even as the Earth still crumbles beneath them. Shelter 
them under Your wings until this disaster passes. Erase the divide of 
politics and past hatred by the rescue efforts and humanitarian aid of 
their neighboring countries, and then from the rubble may there emerge 
the shared responsibility we each have as humans one for another in 
times of suffering.
  Embrace in Your arms all who have lost loved ones this day and uphold 
those who are still awaiting news of those not yet rescued.
  In the midst of this tragedy, grant each of them the certainty of 
Your abiding spirit. May their fears be relieved though the Earth 
should change, their uncertainties assuaged though the mountains slip 
into the heart of the sea. For You, O Lord, are their refuge and their 
strength, a very present help in these times of trouble.
  In the hope to be found in You and in the promise of Your name, we 
pray.
  Amen.

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