[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 9]
[House]
[Pages 11869-11870]
[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:
  Creating God, we come together today in a simple prayer. May we be 
who we are created to be, reflections of Your image. May we live as we 
know we should, as caretakers of creation. May we participate in the 
purpose of life, as companions to God and to one another. May we truly 
embrace the equality of humanity as ``self-evident'' and know that just 
beneath the surface of disagreement, conflict, discord, and even 
violence and death, there is a deep river of grace, love, and 
forgiveness that truly binds us. May this stream of

[[Page 11870]]

eternal presence be solace for any pain in our lives; but, more 
importantly, inspiration and hope of reconciliation and peace in 
personal relationships, in our Nation, and throughout the world.
  May the deliberations and decisions of this day and all days take 
place in the spirit of common good, the spirit in which we are created.
  Amen.

                          ____________________