[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 9]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 12641-12643]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




COMMEMORATING THE 57TH ANNUAL NATIONAL PRAYER BREAKFAST, FEBRUARY 5TH, 
                                  2009

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. HEATH SHULER

                           of north carolina

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 14, 2009

  Mr. SHULER. Madam Speaker, I had the privilege of co-chairing the 
57th Annual National Prayer Breakfast with my colleague, Congressman 
Vern Ehlers of Michigan, on February 5, 2009. This annual gathering is 
held here in our Nation's Capital and is hosted by Members of the U.S. 
Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives weekly prayer breakfast 
groups. Every president since Dwight Eisenhower has spoken at the 
National Prayer Breakfast. This year, we were honored to have the 
participation of our President and the First Lady. President Obama 
continued the longstanding tradition of addressing the Breakfast. We 
were encouraged and inspired by his words as well as the remarks shared 
by the Right Honorable Tony Blair.

[[Page 12642]]

  This year we hosted a gathering of over 4,000 individuals from all 50 
States and from 182 countries around the world. So that all may benefit 
from the prayerful message relayed at the National Prayer Breakfast, I 
would like to request that a copy of the transcript of the 2009 
proceedings be printed in the Congressional Record at this time.

  57th National Prayer Breakfast--Thursday, February 5, 2009, Hilton 
                    Washington Hotel, Washington, DC


  Co-Chairs: U.S. Representative Vern Ehlers and U.S. Representative 
                              Heath Shuler

       Congressman Vernon Ehlers: Good morning. Welcome to the 
     National Prayer Breakfast.
       Congressman Heath Shuler: I am honored to introduce a great 
     leader from North Carolina. Michell Hicks is the Principal 
     Chief of the Eastern Band of Cherokees. He was elected to the 
     position in 2003 and re-elected in 2007. He and his wife 
     Marsha have five children. Chief Hicks is joined by Amanda 
     Wolfe, who has won the honor of being Miss Cherokee. They 
     will now offer our pre-breakfast prayer, the Lord's Prayer in 
     English and Cherokee. Chief Hicks.
       Chief Michell Hicks: It is an honor to be here this 
     morning. I want to thank the Congressmen for the invitation 
     and, most importantly, to thank the Lord for blessing each 
     one of us today.
       Miss Cherokee: ``Our Father which art in Heaven, hallowed 
     be thy name. Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as 
     it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And 
     forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us 
     not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is 
     the Kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. 
     Amen.''
       Chief Hicks: (translates the Lord's Prayer in Cherokee)
       Congressman Shuler: I would like to introduce our special 
     guests that we have here this morning. Most of the folks at 
     the head table will be introduced in their place in the 
     program, but we would like to introduce the others as well--
     Mrs. Anita Skelton, daughter-in-law of the Congressman; 
     Joanna Ehlers, the spouse of my co-chair; my wife, Nicole; 
     and the First Lady of the United States, Michelle Obama.
       Congressman Ehlers: I have the pleasure of introducing 
     several heads of state and heads of government who have 
     traveled to Washington to participate in this important 
     event. I would ask you to join me in welcoming:
       President Rene Garcia Preval of Haiti
       President Gloria Arroyo of the Philippines
       Prime Minister Sali Berisha of Albania
       Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski of Macedonia
       Prime Minister Navinchandra Ramgoolam of Mauritius
       We cannot recognize all of the foreign dignitaries without 
     recognizing our own Vice President Biden.
       It is a pleasure to have all of you here. In addition to 
     those I have introduced, we also have former heads of 
     government, vice presidents, and first ladies from the 
     nations of Bulgaria, the Democratic Republic of Congo, the 
     Dominican Republic, the Fiji Islands, Indonesia, Kenya, 
     Mozambique, Pakistan, Senegal, and Tanzania. You all are most 
     welcome. We are honored by your presence. Thank you all for 
     being here.
       Let me just say a bit about our weekly prayer breakfast--
     just so you know where we are coming from. Every Thursday 
     morning from eight to nine o'clock, a group of us get 
     together for prayer and singing. As we are singing hymns, 
     echoing through the corridors of the Capitol, and then 
     engaging in prayer, it always strikes me: ``This is 
     wonderful, right here in the capital of the United States, we 
     are having this wonderful ceremony together, this event where 
     we are recognizing God's place in our lives.'' Every week 
     when we kick it off, the first words are ``welcome to the 
     best hour of the week.'' That is the way we feel about it. We 
     are glad to welcome you to the best hour of the year, right 
     here in this room.
       Congressman Shuler: On Thursday mornings, it is very 
     special that we have members of Congress, both Democrats and 
     Republicans, who check their political parties at the door 
     when they attend our breakfast. We are there to be united, to 
     fellowship, to worship, to sing and to praise together. Many 
     times we laugh together, we hear funny stories, and we cry 
     together about the times that we miss our families and when 
     we struggle. It is our members of Congress reaching out to 
     one another and in prayer. We cherish those moments together. 
     Each week we actually sing a hymn. The singing is not very 
     good, I might add. It is very special that we have every 
     state as well as 182 nations represented here today. We get 
     to hear some wonderful singing and wonderful worship on this 
     great day. I would like to introduce to you professional 
     musicians to take the members of Congress's place. I think 
     God really appreciates that. Our musical guests this morning 
     are Casting Crowns, led by Mark Hall.
       Casting Crowns: [sing] ``Oh, what I would do to have the 
     kind of faith it takes to climb out of this boat; I'm in onto 
     the crashing waves. Just step out of my comfort zone to the 
     realm of being known where Jesus is and is holding out his 
     hand, but the waves are calling out my name and they laugh at 
     me, reminding me of all the times I've tried before and 
     failed. The waves, they keep on telling me time and time 
     again boy you'll never win, you'll never win but the voice of 
     truth, it tells me a different story. The voice of truth says 
     do not be afraid, and the voice of truth said this is for my 
     glory out of all the voices calling out to me I would choose 
     to listen and believe the voice of truth.
       And oh what I would do to have the kind of strength it 
     takes to stand before a giant with just a sling and a stone. 
     Surrounded by the sound of a thousand warriors shaking in 
     their armor, wishing they'd of had the strength to stand, but 
     the giant's calling out my name and he laughs at me, 
     reminding me of all the times I've tried before and failed, 
     the giant keeps on telling me time and time again boy, you'll 
     never win (never win), you'll never win but the voice of 
     truth tells me a different story, the voice of truth says 
     ``do not be afraid'' and the voice of truth says ``this is 
     for my glory.'' Out of all the voices calling out to me I 
     would choose to listen and believe the voice of truth. The 
     stone was just the right size to put the giant on the ground 
     and the waves, they don't seem so high on top of them looking 
     down and I soar with the wings of eagles if I'd stop and 
     listen to the sound of Jesus singing over me and the voice of 
     truth tells me a different story, the voice of truth says 
     ``do not be afraid,'' and the voice of truth said ``this is 
     for my glory,'' out of all the voices calling out to me I 
     would choose to listen and believe, I would choose to listen 
     and believe, voice of truth, and I, I will listen and believe 
     because Jesus you are the voice of truth.''
       Congressman Ehlers: Any Thursday morning that you are free, 
     you are welcome to come to our weekly prayer breakfast. It is 
     now my pleasure to introduce Congresswoman Jo Ann Emerson of 
     Missouri to present a reading from the Holy Scriptures.
       Congresswoman Jo Ann Emerson: Many of you all know that in 
     Genesis 33 we find the reunion of Jacob and Esau. As a young 
     man, Jacob had swindled the inheritance away from his twin 
     brother Esau by tricking their blind father Isaac. After that 
     treachery, Jacob flees for fear of Esau's reprisal. Jacob 
     toils away in a faraway land and builds up for himself great 
     wealth. However, God leads Jacob back to the land of his 
     birth to fulfill the covenant God had with Abraham. Jacob is 
     so afraid of Esau that he divides his people so that some may 
     survive the coming battle. I will read to you now from 
     Genesis chapter 33, verses 1-12:
       And Jacob lifted up his eyes and looked and behold Esau was 
     coming and four hundred men with him, so he divided the 
     children among Leah and Rachel and the two female servants, 
     and he put the servants with their children in front, then 
     Leah with her children and Rachel and Joseph last of all. He 
     himself went on before them bowing himself to the ground 
     seven times until he came nearer to his brother. But Esau ran 
     to meet him and embraced him and fell on his neck and kissed 
     him and they wept. And when Esau lifted up his eyes and saw 
     the women and children, he said ``who are these with you?'' 
     Jacob said ``the children whom God has graciously given your 
     servant.'' Then the servants drew near, they and their 
     children, and bowed down. Leah likewise and her children drew 
     near and bowed down, and last, Joseph and Rachel drew near 
     and they bowed down. Esau said ``what do you mean by all this 
     company that I met?'' Jacob answered, ``to find favor in the 
     sight of my Lord.'' But Esau said, ``I have enough my 
     brother, keep what you have for yourself.'' Jacob said, ``No, 
     please, if I have found favor in your sight, then accept my 
     present from my hand, for I have seen your face which is like 
     seeing the face of God and you have accepted me. Please 
     accept my blessing that is brought to you because God has 
     dealt graciously with me and because I have enough.'' Thus he 
     urged him and he took it, then Esau said ``let us journey on 
     our way and I will go ahead of you.''
       Congressman Ehlers: To present a prayer for national 
     leaders I call to the platform one of the pillars of our 
     House breakfast for many years, Congressman Ike Skelton.
       Congressman Ike Skelton: Whenever we pray, we should keep 
     in mind the words of the British Poet Alfred Lord Tennyson 
     who wrote: ``more things are wrought by prayer than this 
     world dreams of.'' May we pray?
       God Almighty and the Father of us all--as is stated in the 
     Constitution of this great country: ``we have common purpose 
     as the people of the United States, that we are to form a 
     more perfect union, establish justice, ensure domestic 
     tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the 
     general welfare and secure the blessings of liberty for 
     ourselves and our posterity.'' Throughout our history, Lord, 
     you have granted us leaders in national government, in 
     industry, commerce, science, education and religion to serve 
     this common purpose--for this we thank you. In our own day, 
     we pray for our President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle, 
     Vice President Joe Biden and his wife, Jill. We also pray for 
     the members of the Congress, our leaders, Speaker Nancy 
     Pelosi and the other leaders in the Congress, the Supreme 
     Court, our cabinet members, our military leaders, and all 
     government

[[Page 12643]]

     leaders in the states and the local communities. Help them to 
     fulfill their sacred pledge and perform their duties with 
     wisdom and compassion. May they seek your guidance by prayer, 
     the support of the citizenry by listening to genuine needs, 
     and witness to your strong arm behind everything. May leaders 
     in business and economics be blessed with personal integrity 
     and professional collaboration. Lord, bless our nation's 
     leaders in religion and education so that they provide a 
     powerful vision for your people. Instill in them common hopes 
     and greater understanding of themselves and others--together, 
     creating imaginations will establish a common ground to plant 
     seeds for the future. In our families, Lord, raise up new 
     leadership for our nation, may parents prove to be good role 
     models by their faithfulness, self discipline, and basic 
     moral standards. Help them to encourage young people to have 
     great expectations and to accomplish great deeds. Especially, 
     we pray today for those families who are involved in military 
     service. Protect them, sustain them until they return safely 
     and together with them we live in peace. In you, oh Lord, we 
     find the power to live our constitutional convictions and in 
     you we place our trust, calling upon your Holy Name, now and 
     forever. Amen.
       Senator Johnny Isakson: Good morning. I am Johnny Isakson 
     from Georgia, and I am honored to Co-Chair the Senate prayer 
     breakfast.
       Senator Amy Klobuchar: I am Amy Klobuchar from Minnesota, 
     the other Co-Chair. On behalf of the United States Senate, we 
     would like to welcome you today.
       When Johnny and I took over the Senate prayer breakfast 
     this year, we inherited some changes. There was a new Senate 
     food service manager and she tripled the price of the 
     breakfast. More importantly, they took the grits off the menu 
     which did not sit well with Johnny or any of the other 
     Southerners. Picture this, here I am, the first woman to do 
     this, a Northern Senator, and the grits disappear from the 
     menu and the price triples. This is a true crisis in 
     leadership. So we asked for some divine intervention. After 
     some tough negotiations, the price came down and, as if by a 
     miracle, the grits returned to the menu.
       Senator Isakson: Mr. President, if a Minnesota Yankee can 
     save grits for a Southern Republican, there is hope for 
     bipartisanship.
       We gather together every Wednesday, not as Republicans or 
     as Democratic members of the Senate, but as Americans with a 
     deep and abiding faith in God and the hope for the future of 
     our country, and the hope for the future of our world. As we 
     do so, we gather not seeking what we do not have in common, 
     but relishing that which we do have in common--a deep and 
     abiding faith in Our Lord, and a great appreciation for our 
     great country, the United States of America.
       Senator Klobuchar: Our Senate prayer breakfast is truly a 
     special occasion. It is a chance for us to share and to build 
     friendships which might not otherwise be possible. This is 
     especially important for all of us. The daily pressures of 
     our work can way too often limit our horizons and narrow our 
     circle of friends. These same pressures also make it all too 
     easy for us to lose our way. Through prayer we can find our 
     moral compass that will guide us back and lead us forward. 
     And through prayer we are also humbled--that is important 
     since modesty too often appears to be one of the first 
     casualties of a life in Washington. As a new Senator, I found 
     the prayer breakfast to be a respite from the day to day 
     quarrels and strategic maneuvering of Washington. I have 
     actually gotten to like grits and meet some new friends like 
     Johnny.
       Senator Isakson: Our Founding Fathers created this nation 
     as one nation under God and we know that we are also one 
     world under God. As we gather and pray together, we pray for 
     the strength of our country, knowing that just as the 
     breakfast we have enjoyed sustains our bodies, the faith we 
     share in common with our God sustains our soul.
       Congressman Shuler: As was mentioned earlier, the House and 
     the Senate alternates chairing the National Prayer Breakfast, 
     with his year's Prayer Breakfast being run by the House. We 
     call on all of our colleagues and ask them to participate for 
     various roles in the program. When we first put the program 
     together, our next presenter was a member of the U.S. House. 
     Since then, she has gotten herself into a new job in the 
     Senate--but we still claim her as one of us. To present a 
     reading from the Holy Scripture, I am happy to introduce my 
     friend and the new Senator from New York, Kirsten Gillibrand.
       Senator Kirsten Gillibrand: It is an honor to be among so 
     many faithful. I would like to offer a reading from Matthew, 
     chapter 5, verses 14-16.
       ``You are the light of the world, a city on a hill cannot 
     be hidden, neither do people light a lamp and put it under a 
     bowl. Instead they put it on its stand and it gives light to 
     everyone in the house. In the same way let your light shine 
     before men that they may see your good deeds and praise your 
     Father in Heaven.'' Heath asked me to reflect on what this 
     scripture meant to me. I thought about this passage and the 
     parable of the talents. I believe that as God has blessed me 
     with certain skills and talents, as New York's newest 
     Senator, I offer them up for public service, with much 
     gratitude and humility in my heart. May each deed from my 
     hands and each word from my lips reflect God's light and his 
     love for the world.
       Congressman Shuler: It is now my pleasure to introduce 
     Congressman Todd Akin of Missouri, who will present a prayer 
     for world leaders.

                          ____________________