[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 2]
[House]
[Page 1775]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

                                 PRAYER

  The Reverend Dr. Ronald F. Christian, Director, Lutheran Social 
Services of Virginia, Fairfax, Virginia, offered the following prayer:
  Almighty God, in this moment of quiet we are acknowledging Your 
presence in our lives and in our world.
  Through the words of Your prophets we are challenged in our deeds, 
for surely shalom is our greatest need, justice must be our supreme 
passion, service to our neighbor in need is everyone's responsibility, 
and gratitude for Your many gifts Your only request.
  So we pray, may our actions be molded by Your great love for all 
people. May our lives be modeled after those heroes and saints who so 
lived their lives personal that sacrifice was not too great a price to 
pay. May we commit our actions to the great principles of malice toward 
none and equality for all. And, may we always be more ready to give 
mercy than receive it, demonstrate compassion than to be shown it, and 
offer honor to another than to seek it for ourselves.
  Bless, we pray, our day and our deeds. Amen.

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