[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 11]
[Senate]
[Page 14872]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

                                 prayer

  The guest Chaplain offered the following prayer:

  Almighty God of freedom, who gave us the promise and the dream of 
liberty to be proclaimed throughout the land, we pause before this 
session to recall words spoken by a Senate nominee--Abe Lincoln--on 
this day, June 16, in 1858. ``A nation divided against itself cannot 
stand,'' he said, and we ``cannot endure half slave, half free.''
  O Lord our God and God of generations past, we offer thanks for all 
the progress we have made since that historic speech, even as we 
recognize we still have more to do. Slavery, the institution, is no 
more. But let us unite in our resolve that none should be enslaved by 
prejudice or hatred that threatens the humanity and dignity we have 
fought to recognize and guarantee; that none, victimized by ignorance 
or discrimination, live lives half slave, half free.
  Grant us and all our leaders the wisdom to debate and disagree, with 
civility and respect, the issues of the day. But give us, we pray, the 
wisdom and the faith we need to safeguard a nation united, not 
divided--indivisible, as we pledge--in our pursuit of liberty and 
justice for us all.
  And may we say, Amen.

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