[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 9]
[House]
[Page 13302]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

                                 PRAYER

  Reverend Dr. Harmon E. Stockdale, Mt. Vernon Missionary Baptist 
Church, Rochester, New York, offered the following prayer:
  Heavenly Father, we acknowledge You with adoration and humble 
gratitude. We pray for Your presence and guidance over this 
distinguished body before whom we stand.
  We thank You for this great land in which we live, the United States 
of America. And we thank You for all who share in making the policies, 
laws, and decisions which guide and govern our Nation.
  We ask Your blessings upon all of our elected and appointed leaders 
as they lead us to face the challenges of our day. Grant that we, as a 
Nation, may be mindful of Your providence and Your grace as we give 
moral and ethical leadership to the people of our world.
  May justice, equality, and compassion always be the guiding 
principles for our way of life; and may we never forget that to whom 
much is given, much is required.
  In Your Son's name we pray.
  Amen.

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