[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 5]
[Senate]
[Page 7158]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

                                 prayer

  The guest Chaplain offered the following prayer:
  Let us pray.
  Our Father in Heaven, snowflakes windswept to sky-piercing peaks do 
more than cloak mountaintops in their fine wintry vestments. Their 
varied crystalline structures speak of how You, the Master Artist, have 
sculpted our world to exemplify the beauty of contrast. Heartfelt 
differences are the hallmark of our times. O Lord, help us realize that 
division need not be the lyric of sorrow but the signature of 
brotherhood.
  In the pursuit of truth and righteousness, disputes can compose 
verses of hard-won wisdom. Consider the rent of rock running through 
the Grand Canyon. It is a break, a fissure, a divide miles deep and, 
yet, is there a sight more majestic? Unity is not sameness, nor is it 
bland agreement. Only when Moses parted the waters was a nation set 
free.
  We pray, O God, give us strength to grapple for the great good, 
defend the passion of our convictions, and still retain the devotion of 
brothers and sisters. Bless all of us in this hallowed hall of 
lawmaking with clarity of vision so that we may gaze upon the heights 
of our shared destiny. Amen.

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