[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 138 (Tuesday, August 22, 2023)]
[House]
[Page H4195]
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:
  Creator God, You made us, and we are Your people, the sheep of Your 
pasture. Gather us back into Your fold, that we may once again 
experience the warmth of Your embrace and the protection of Your 
steadfast love.
  For we have wandered far from Your company. We have deviated widely 
from the paths You set before us. Even as we reflect on our own history 
as a country, our departure from Your divine will is painfully obvious.
  Call us back to profound moments that rang the bell to return to You, 
to seek justice that rolls like a river, and righteousness like a 
never-failing stream which will lead us back to You. May we hear the 
resonant voice of Your servants like Martin Luther King, Jr., who 60 
years ago spoke on the monumental steps of this city, sounding the 
clarion call to yield our lives to the fulfillment of Your vision of 
valleys exalted, mountains and hills made low.
  Restore to us the joy that is ours when we do Your will, that we 
would work together to live into the dream of freedom and justice 
upheld, that we would pray together at the table of fellowship, and 
with dignity and respect, refine the content of our character even as 
we struggle together as equals.
  For You, O Lord, are good, and Your love endures forever. Your 
faithfulness continues through all generations. In the strength of Your 
merciful name we pray.
  Amen.

                          ____________________