[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 9]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 12645-12646]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




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

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. W. TODD AKIN

                              of missouri

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 14, 2009

  Mr. AKIN. Madam Speaker, I had the privilege of participating in the 
57th Annual National Prayer Breakfast with my colleagues, Congressman 
Heath Shuler of North Carolina and 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. I would like to 
request that the summation 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

       President Barack Obama: Good morning. I want to thank the 
     co-chairs of this breakfast, Representatives Heath Shuler and 
     Vernon Ehlers. I also want to thank my good friend Tony Blair 
     for coming today, as well as our Vice President, Joe Biden, 
     members of the cabinet, members of Congress, clergy, friends, 
     and dignitaries from across the world.
       Michelle and I are honored to join you in prayer this 
     morning. I know this breakfast has a long history in 
     Washington, and faith has always been a guiding force in our 
     family's life, so we feel very much at home and look forward 
     to keeping this tradition alive during our time here. It is a 
     tradition that I am told actually began many years ago in the 
     city of Seattle. It was at the height of the Great 
     Depression, and most people found themselves out of work. 
     Many fell into poverty and some lost everything. The leaders 
     of the community did all that they could for those who were 
     suffering in their midst. And then they decided to do 
     something more--they prayed. It didn't matter what party or 
     religious affiliation to which they belonged. They simply 
     gathered one morning as brothers and sisters to share a meal 
     and talk with God. These breakfasts soon sprouted up 
     throughout Seattle and quickly spread to cities and towns 
     across America, eventually making their way to Washington, 
     DC. A short time after President Eisenhower asked a group of 
     Senators if he could join their prayer breakfast, it became a 
     national event. And today, as I see presidents, prime 
     ministers and dignitaries here from every corner of the 
     globe, it strikes me that this is one of the rare occasions 
     that still brings much of the world together at a moment of 
     peace and good will.
       I raise this history because far too often we have seen 
     faith wielded as a tool to divide us from one another--as an 
     excuse for prejudice and intolerance. Wars have been waged, 
     innocents had been slaughtered. For centuries entire 
     religions have been persecuted, all in the name of perceived 
     righteousness. There is no doubt that the very nature of 
     faith means that some of our beliefs will never be the same. 
     We read from different texts. We follow different edicts. We 
     subscribe to different accounts of how we came to be here and 
     where we are going next. And some subscribe to no faith at 
     all. But no matter what we choose to believe, let us remember 
     that there is no religion whose central tenet is hate. There 
     is no God who condones taking the life of an innocent human 
     being. This much we know. We know too that whatever our 
     differences, there is one law that binds all great religions 
     together. Jesus told us to ``love thy neighbor as thyself.'' 
     The Torah commands, ``That which is hateful to you, do not do 
     to your fellow.'' In Islam there is the hadith that reads, 
     ``None of you truly believes until he wishes for his brother 
     what he wishes for himself.'' And the same is true for 
     Buddhists and Hindus, for followers of Confucius, and for 
     humanists. It is, of course, the Golden Rule--the call to 
     love one another, to understand one another, to treat with 
     dignity and respect those with whom we share a brief moment 
     on this Earth. It is an ancient rule, a simple rule, but also 
     perhaps the most challenging. For it asks each of us to take 
     some measure of responsibility for the well-being of people 
     we may not know or worship with or agree with on every issue 
     or on any issue. Sometimes it asks us to reconcile with 
     bitter enemies or resolve ancient hatreds--and that requires 
     a living, breathing act of faith. It requires us not only to 
     believe but to do--to give something of ourselves for the 
     benefit of others and the betterment of our world. In this 
     way, the particular faith that motivates each of us can 
     promote a greater good for all of us. Instead of driving us 
     apart, our varied beliefs can bring us together to feed the 
     hungry, clothe the naked, comfort the afflicted, to make 
     peace where there is strife and rebuild what is broken, to 
     lift up those who have fallen on hard times. This is not only 
     our call as people of faith, but our duty as citizens of 
     America, and our duty as citizens of the world, and it will 
     be the purpose of the White House Office of Faith-based and 
     Neighborhood Partnerships that I am announcing later today.
       The goal of this office will not to be to favor one 
     religious group over another--or even religious groups over 
     secular groups, it will simply be to work on behalf of those 
     organizations that want to work on behalf of our communities, 
     and to do so without blurring the line that our founders 
     wisely drew between church and state. This work is important, 
     because whether it is a secular group advising families 
     facing foreclosure or faith-based groups providing job 
     training to those who need work, few are closer to what is 
     happening on our streets and in our neighborhoods than these 
     organizations. People trust them, communities rely on them, 
     and we will help them.
       We will also reach out to leaders and scholars around the 
     world to foster a more productive and peaceful dialogue on 
     faith. I am not naive. I don't expect divisions to disappear 
     overnight, nor do I believe that the long-held views and 
     conflicts will suddenly vanish. But I do believe that if we 
     can talk to one another openly and honestly, and if perhaps 
     we allow God's grace to enter into that space that lies 
     between us, then the old rifts between us will start to mend, 
     and new partnerships will begin to emerge. In a world that 
     grows smaller by the day, perhaps we can begin to crowd out 
     the destructive forces of excessive zealotry and make room 
     for the healing power of understanding. This is my hope. This 
     is my prayer. I believe this good is possible because my 
     faith teaches me that all is possible, but I also believe 
     because of what I have seen and what I have lived.
       I was not raised in a particularly religious household. I 
     had a father who was born a Muslim but became an atheist, 
     grandparents who were non-practicing Methodists and Baptists, 
     and a mother who was skeptical of organized religion--even 
     though she was the kindest, most spiritual person I have ever 
     known. She was the one who taught me as a child to love, and 
     to understand, and to do unto others as I would want done. I 
     didn't become a Christian until many years later when I moved 
     to the South Side of Chicago after college. It happened not 
     because of indoctrination or a sudden revelation but because 
     I spent month after month working with church folks who 
     simply wanted to help neighbors who were down on their luck, 
     no matter what they looked like or where they came from or 
     who they prayed to. It was on those streets, in those 
     neighborhoods that I first heard God's spirit beckon me. It 
     was there that I felt called to a higher purpose--His 
     purpose. In different ways and in different forms, it is that 
     spirit and sense of purpose that drew friends and neighbors 
     to that first prayer breakfast in Seattle all those years 
     ago, during another trying time for our nation. It is what 
     led friends and neighbors from so many faiths and nations 
     here today. We come to break bread and to give thanks, but 
     most of all to seek guidance. And to rededicate ourselves to 
     the mission of love and service that lies at the heart of all 
     humanity. St. Augustine once said: ``Pray as though 
     everything depends on God and work as though everything 
     depends on you.''
       So let us pray together on this February morning, but let 
     us also work together in all the days and months ahead. For 
     it is only through common struggle and common effort, as 
     brothers and sisters, that we fulfill our highest purpose as 
     beloved children of God. I ask that you join me in that 
     effort and I also ask that you pray for myself, for Michelle, 
     for my family and for the continued perfection of our nation. 
     Thank you so

[[Page 12646]]

     much, God bless you. God bless the United States of America.
       Congressman Ehlers. Thank you very much, Mr. President and 
     Michelle, for being with us. This is an auspicious occasion. 
     As I had said earlier, this prayer breakfast started with 
     President Eisenhower and every year since then it has been 
     graced by the presence of the President of the United States. 
     It has been a real blessing to have the President and the 
     First Lady here today.
       Congressman Shuler: Welcome back Casting Crowns.
       Casting Crowns: [sing] Who am I that the Lord of all the 
     earth would care to know my name, would care to feel my hurt. 
     Who am I that the bright and morning star would choose to 
     light the way from my ever wandering heart but not because of 
     who I am but because of what you've done and not because of 
     what I've done but because of who you are and I am a flower 
     quickly fading here today and gone tomorrow a wave tossed in 
     the ocean, the vapor in the wind, still you hear me when I'm 
     calling but you catch me when I'm falling and you told me who 
     I am, I am yours.
       Who am I that the eye that's seen the sin would look on me 
     with love and watch me rise again. Who am I that the voice 
     that calmed the sea would call out through the rain and calm 
     the storm in me, not because of who I am but because of what 
     you've done, not because of what I've done but because of who 
     you are.
       And I am a flower quickly fading, here today and gone 
     tomorrow, a wave tossed in the ocean, a vapor in the wind, 
     still you hear me when I'm calling, Lord you catch me when 
     I'm falling and you told me who I am, I am yours.
       Whom shall I fear, whom shall I fear, because I am yours.
       Congressman Ehlers: Thank you again Casting Crowns for your 
     words of faith and encouragement, we appreciate your 
     participation today.
       I hope that all of you have been uplifted and inspired by 
     what you have seen up here--people of different parties, 
     nations, races, generations and backgrounds coming together. 
     As the Prime Minister and the President both said, faith can 
     be a tremendous force for good in this modern world and we 
     all need it--all the help we can get. It all begins with 
     obeying the simple commands that Jesus talked about. Loving 
     God with everything we have and loving our neighbors as 
     ourselves. This is the first and great commandment. We in the 
     Congress are trying to do that and I hope that you will 
     commit to do that more and more in your daily lives. We ask 
     that you will also join in prayer every single day and pray 
     for us in the Congress and in other agencies of leadership 
     around the world as we all try to serve God above all and to 
     serve people and to keep them safe and secure in their lives.
       Congressman Shuler: Now to close the event, I am honored to 
     turn to a great American hero--from the age of 23 he was a 
     national leader in the struggle for civil rights and for more 
     than four decades he has been a shining star of justice. To 
     present our closing prayer, the Honorable Congressman John 
     Lewis of Georgia.
       Congressman John Lewis: My beloved brothers and sisters, 
     let us pray. Lord our God, this morning we stand before you 
     as citizens of the world, as leaders of many great nations, 
     and as humbled public servants, tasked with a powerful 
     responsibility. Lord my God, your people are suffering in 
     teeming cities and in the distant corners of the earth--too 
     many of your children are hungry and naked, homeless and 
     poor, too many are sick, too many forgotten, too many are 
     locked in the struggles of war and suffering alone in silent 
     despair. Lord, we stand before you today as a human family in 
     need of your help. Please Lord, give us the faith to be still 
     and know that you are God. Give us the faith to trust that 
     you are with us at all times. Lord God, give us the power to 
     see that your light shines brightest in times of the greatest 
     need. Lord, give us a will to seek your divine understanding 
     in every decision that we make. Thank you Lord for sending us 
     a man, a leader and a President Barack Obama, we ask for a 
     special blessing on his behalf. Guide his steps and please 
     direct his path. Hold him and his family in the palm of your 
     magnificent and all powerful hand. Let your angels watch over 
     them, protect them and be their preferred and invisible God. 
     Thank you Lord, thank you this morning for sending men and 
     women who prepare to do thy will. Pour out your blessing upon 
     us all. Give us the power to do what is right, what is fair 
     and what is just. Please Lord show us how we can bring peace 
     to a violent world. Let the day come when we can lay down the 
     tools and instruments of war and study war no more. Lord, 
     give us the will and the way to build and not destroy. Give 
     us the capacity to be reconciled and not divide. Give us the 
     strength to love and not to hate, that these gifts be made 
     manifest in all that we do and in every way that we serve 
     your people. We ask all these things in Thy divine name. This 
     is our plea. This is our cry. This is our prayer. Amen.
       Congressman Ehlers: Go in peace, love God. Serve God and 
     your neighbor.

                          ____________________