[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 12]
[House]
[Page 17135]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                 THE FIRST CONGRESS OPENED WITH PRAYER

  (Mr. PITTS asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. PITTS. Madam Speaker, on this day, September 6, 1774, 226 years 
ago, the first Congress assembled in Philadelphia. According to the 
Records of Congress, Congress established two important precedents on 
that day. First, rules of governing its procedures; and, second, it 
decided to open its sessions with prayer.
  John Adams provided the details on that second decision, reporting 
that ``When Congress first met, Mr. Cushing made a motion that it 
should be opened in prayer. It was opposed by one or two, because we 
were so divided in religious sentiment that we could not agree on the 
same act of worship. Mr. Samuel Adams rose and said, `He was no bigot, 
and could hear a prayer from a gentleman of piety and virtue, who was 
at the same time a friend to his country, and therefore he moved that 
Mr. Duche, an Episcopalian clergyman, might be desired to read prayers 
to the Congress tomorrow morning.' The motion was seconded and passed 
in the affirmative.''
  Interestingly, although objections were raised against public prayers 
two centuries ago, Congress quickly learned that prayer was a unifying 
rather than a dividing force. Now, two centuries later, we still 
benefit from what they learned 226 years ago today.

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