[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 5]
[House]
[Page 6383]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

                                 PRAYER

  Reverend Andrew Walton, Capitol Hill Presbyterian Church, Washington, 
D.C., offered the following prayer:
  We come together in thanks and gratitude; thankful for the wonder and 
mystery of life itself and grateful for the abundance of the universe 
in which our lives unfold.
  We return today to a familiar yet changed place. Gone are the dormant 
days of winter and fading blossoms of early spring. Still with us are 
days of transition as seasons collide too often in fury, chaos, and 
even death.
  Yet beyond the storms, once again we see the rich fullness of 
creation, feel the warmth of the sun, touch fresh Earth, smell fragrant 
breezes, and taste the produce of the land.
  As individuals, but more so collectively, we remember that we are 
called as caretakers of the cosmic home humanity shares, that when one 
suffers, we all suffer, when one falls we all fall.
  May our response to this call be one of possibility and potential 
inspired by imagination, wisdom, and trust--but mostly by love unveiled 
in our common spirit, both human and divine.
  Amen.

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