[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 3]
[Senate]
[Page 3383]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                      THANKING THE GUEST CHAPLAIN

  Mr. AKAKA. Mr. President, I thank our visiting chaplain, the Rev. 
Kenneth L. Harrington, for giving the opening prayer this morning, and 
Chaplain Black who joined me to make this possible.
  Rev. Ken Harrington is the popular and beloved, respected and well-
credentialed pastor of Hope United Church of Christ in Alexandria, my 
church away from home. Ken is a graduate of the State University of New 
York, Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, DC, and the Seminary 
of Drew University in New Jersey.
  Hope Church has been my church away from home for three decades. It 
was my good fortune to be invited to the church many years ago by my 
late and cherished friend, Mahina Bailey, and his dear wife, Linda. 
Mahina was a Hawaiian born in Hawaii, who spent his adult life here.
  Over the years, I have gone to many services at Hope and have always 
been uplifted by the sermons, and since 2000, by the inspiring sermons 
delivered by Reverend Harrington. Hope Church is a family-friendly 
church, dedicated to teaching the values of tolerance and inclusivity.
  You can actually see this reflected on the diverse faces of its 
congregation, the result no doubt of the sincerity of its message of 
inclusivity. The diversity of its congregation is so much like mine at 
home. Together with inspirational sermons come seeds for thought to be 
thought through and digested, and practiced in daily life. Foremost 
among these thoughts, in my mind, is how we can make this a better 
world for all of us.
  I think this is particularly true for Members of Congress in whom a 
great trust has been placed by our constituents.
  As we go through on a daily basis to achieve the greatest good for 
the greatest number, and have succeeded for the most part but been 
frustrated at times on issues so dear and right in our hearts, it is 
good to open our daily session with a prayer and have the spiritual 
support and guidance of a divine being, to each from his or her own 
faith.
  To end on a lighter note with a ray of optimism for the passage of 
bills that are near and dear to our hearts, let me say that with all 
the seriousness that the mission of a church involves, intertwined in 
its spiritual voyage are social programs. One of Hope's most popular 
social events is its annual luau, complete with Hawaiian food and 
entertainment.
  An oversold event every year where congregants and friends thank the 
Lord for his bounty.
  Reverend Harrington, thank you for being here this morning and thank 
you for your stewardship of Hope United Church of Christ.

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