[Deschler's Precedents, Volume 1, Chapters 1 - 6]
[Chapter 6.  Officers, Officials, and Employees]
[C. House Officers]
[Â§ 21. Duties of the Chaplain]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]


[Page 612-616]
 
                               CHAPTER 6
 
                   Officers, Officials, and Employees
 
                           C. HOUSE OFFICERS
 
Sec. 21. Duties of the Chaplain

    The Chaplain of the House is responsible for offering a prayer at 
the commencement of each day's sitting of the House under Rule VII of 
the House Rules and Manual.(4)
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 4. Rule VII House Rules and Manual Sec. 650 (1973).
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    Although the prayer generally precedes the transaction of any 
business,(5) it follows the election of a new Speaker at the 
first meeting after the death of a Speaker.(6) And despite 
the general practice that a prayer be offered daily,(7) it 
was not offered on certain occasions.(8)
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 5. 4 Hinds' Precedents Sec. 3056.
 6. Sec. 21.4, infra.
 7. See Sec. 21.2, infra.
 8. See Sec. 21.3, infra, for instances where no prayer was offered.
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Application of Quorum Requirement to Prayer

Sec. 21.1 A quorum is not required for prayer by the Chaplain when a 
    meeting commences, and the Speaker does not recognize Members for a 
    point of order against the prayer based on the absence of a quorum.

    On Mar. 19, 1941,(9) a Member raised a parliamentary 
inquiry:
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 9. 87 Cong. Rec. 2352, 77th Cong. 1st Sess.
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        Mr. [Robert F.] Rich [of Pennsylvania]: Mr. Speaker, a 
    parliamentary inquiry.
        The Speaker [Sam Rayburn, of Texas]: The gentleman will state 
    it.
        Mr. Rich: Mr. Speaker, when I was seeking recognition from the 
    Speaker before the Chaplain offered prayer, I felt that there would 
    be a call of the House and I thought it would be a good thing for 
    all the Members to be here for once to hear the Chaplain offer 
    prayer. What does the Speaker think about that? Would it be proper 
    procedure for a Member to make the point of order that a quorum is 
    not present before the Chaplain offers prayer?
        The Speaker: As the Chair understands it, it has been held many 
    times

[[Page 613]]

    that the prayer is not such business of the House that a quorum is 
    required.(10)
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10. See also 6 Cannon's Precedents  663.
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When Prayers Are Offered

Sec. 21.2 As a general rule, a prayer is offered daily, whether the 
    House had adjourned until the next day or had recessed at its 
    previous sitting.

    On June 18, 1948,(11) a prayer was offered by the 
Chaplain at the expiration of a recess.
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11. 94 Cong. Rec. 8824, 80th Cong. 2d Sess.
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    On the legislative day of Sept. 22, 1961,(12) a prayer 
was offered at 10 o'clock a.m. after the Speaker pro tempore had 
recessed the House at 6:19 p.m. on the previous calendar 
day.(13)
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12. 107 Cong. Rec. 20888, 87th Cong. 1st Sess., Sept. 23, 1961.
13. 107 Cong. Rec. 20869, 87th Cong. 1st Sess., Sept. 22, 1961.
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Sec. 21.3 Notwithstanding the usual practice that a prayer be offered 
    daily, it has not been offered where the House is meeting after a 
    recess to transact business of the same legislative day, although a 
    new calendar day may have begun.

    On the legislative day of Aug. 31, 1960, after a recess begun at 
3:37 a.m., no prayer was offered prior to resumption of business in the 
House at 12 o'clock noon on the same legislative day, although a new 
calendar day, Sept. 1, 1960, had begun.(14)
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14. See 106 Cong. Rec. 18921 (recess on legislative day of Aug. 31, at 
        3:37 a.m., Sept. 1), 86th Cong. 2d Sess., Aug. 31, 1960; and 
        106 Cong. Rec. 19113 (resumption of business for legislative 
        day of Aug. 31 at 12:00 noon, Sept. 1), 86th Cong. 2d Sess., 
        Sept. 1, 1960.
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Prayers After Death of Speaker

Sec. 21.4 At the first meeting following the death of a Speaker during 
    a Congress, the prayer is not offered by the Chaplain until the 
    oath has been administered to the Speaker-elect.

    Although a prayer normally precedes the transaction of any business 
under Rule XXIV clause 1,(15) including the election of a 
new Speaker at the commencement of a Congress,(16) the 
prayer follows

[[Page 614]]

the administration of the oath to a Speaker-elect whose election was 
necessitated by the death of his predecessor.(1)
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15. 4 Hinds' Precedents Sec. 3056.
16. For instances involving the election at the commencement of 
        Congress of a different Member to the office of Speaker when 
        his predecessor has chosen not to seek reelection to the House, 
        see 77 Cong. Rec. 67, 73d Cong. 1st Sess., Mar. 9, 1933, 
        election of Henry T. Rainey; 117 Cong. Rec. 9, 92d Cong. 1st 
        Sess., Jan. 21, 1971, election of Carl Albert after John W. 
        McCormack did not seek reelection to the House in 1970.
 1. See 80 Cong. Rec. 9016, 74th Cong. 2d Sess., June 4, 1936, election 
        of William B. Bankhead after death of Joseph W. Byrns on same 
        date; and 86 Cong. Rec. 12231, 76th Cong. 3d Sess., Sept. 16, 
        1940, election of Sam Rayburn after death of William B. 
        Bankhead on Sept. 15, 1940.
            Compare 79 Cong. Rec. 9, 74th Cong. 1st Sess., Jan. 3, 
        1935, election of Joseph W. Byrns, the prayer preceding the 
        administration of the oath. The previous Speaker, Henry T. 
        Rainey, died on Aug. 19, 1934, two months after adjournment of 
        the second session of the 73d Congress on June 15, 1933.
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Printing of Prayers

Sec. 21.5 The House has authorized the printing of prayers offered by 
    the Chaplain of the House.

    On Mar. 11, 1965,(2) the House authorized the printing 
of prayers offered by the Chaplain of the House, Rev. Bernard Braskamp, 
as follows:
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 2. 111 Cong. Rec. 4766, 89th Cong. 1st Sess.
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        Mr. [Wayne L.] Hays [of Ohio]: Mr. Speaker, by direction of the 
    Committee on House Administration I call up House Resolution 230 
    and ask for its immediate consideration.
        The Clerk read as follows:

                                H. Res. 230

            Resolved, That the prayers offered by the Chaplain, the 
        Reverend Bernard Braskamp, doctor of divinity, at the opening 
        of the daily sessions of the House of Representatives of the 
        United States during the Eighty-seventh and Eighty-eighth 
        Congresses, be printed as a House document, and that two 
        thousand additional copies be printed and bound for the use of 
        the House of Representatives, to be distributed by the Chaplain 
        of the House of Representatives.
            With the following committee amendment:
            On page 1, line 6, strike out ``two'' and insert ``one''.

        The committee amendment was agreed to.
        The resolution was agreed to.

Prayers Offered on Special Occasions

Sec. 21.6 On the day following the shooting in the House Chamber in 
    which several Members were wounded, the Chaplain offered a special 
    prayer when the House convened.

    On Mar. 2, 1954,(3) the Chaplain of the House, Rev. 
Bernard Braskamp, D.D., offered the following prayer:
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 3. 100 Cong. Rec. 2483, 83d Cong. 2d Sess.
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        Almighty God, our Father, by whose mercies we have been spared 
    and by

[[Page 615]]

    whose powers we are sustained in our earthly pilgrimage, we are 
    coming unto Thee with a humble spirit and a contrite heart.

        Gird us now with courage and with confidence in Thy loving 
    kindness for Thou art never closer unto us than when our hearts are 
    wrung with sorrow and our heads are bowed in tribulation.
        We commend unto Thy gracious care in keeping our beloved 
    colleagues, beseeching Thee that Thou wilt share Thine eternal 
    wisdom with the doctors and nurses for Thou art the Great Physician 
    who canst mediate unto them divine skill and enable them to do that 
    which is far beyond all that we can ask or think.
        Grant unto the Members of the sorrowing and stricken families 
    the consolidations of Thy grace and, as they bravely carry on and 
    faithfully and patiently keep the vigil of faith, hope, and love, 
    may they have the blessed companionship of that friend who sticketh 
    closer than a brother.
        We thank Thee for the beautiful spirit of Thy servant, so 
    seriously ill, who has besought us to remember in our prayer those 
    who have harmed us. May we also emulate the example of our blessed 
    Lord who prayed, ``Father, forgive them for they know not what they 
    do.''
        To Thy name, through Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour, we 
    ascribe all the praise. Amen.

Absence of Chaplain

Sec. 21.7 The prayer may be offered by an acting Chaplain.

    On Apr. 25, 1966,(4) Dr. Edward Gardiner Latch, acting 
Chaplain of the House, offered the following opening prayer:
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 4. 112 Cong. Rec. 8786, 89th Cong. 2d Sess.
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        God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. 
    Therefore will we not fear.--Psalm 46:1.
        O God, our Father, who art the refuge and strength of Thy 
    people in every age and our refuge and our strength in this present 
    hour, we pause in Thy presence to offer unto Thee once again the 
    devotion of our hearts. Amid all the changes of this life, help us 
    to rest our spirits upon those eternal foundations of truth and 
    love which Thou hast laid for us. Save us from restlessness, from 
    confusion, and from perpetual movement. Draw us unto Thyself that 
    for this moment we may be still and know that Thou art God. With 
    the assurance of Thy Spirit may we accept the responsibilities of 
    This day and fulfill all our obligations with fidelity and honor. 
    Into Thy loving arms we commit ourselves and our Nation--praying 
    that together we may be one in Thee: through Jesus Christ our Lord. 
    Amen.

    Dr. Latch was appointed as acting Chaplain by the Speaker, John W. 
McCormack, of Massachusetts, on Mar. 14, 1966. Daily prayers during the 
period between that date and Apr. 25, were offered by visiting 
chaplains who had been scheduled by the Doorkeeper following the death 
of Chaplain Braskamp.

Sec. 21.8 In the absence of the Chaplain of the House, the Members rose 
    for a silent prayer.

[[Page 616]]

    On Oct. 5, 1949,(5) Members were asked to rise for a 
moment of silent prayer.
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 5. 95 Cong. Rec. 13897, 81st Cong. 1st Sess.
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        The House met at 10 o'clock a.m.
        The Speaker [Sam Rayburn, of Texas]: Will the membership rise 
    for a moment in silent prayer?

    Parliamentarian's Note: Although the Chaplain of the House had 
designated an acting Chaplain to serve during his absence, the acting 
Chaplain was unaware that the House had agreed to convene at 10 o'clock 
a.m. and arrived too late to open the House with a prayer.

Sec. 21.9 Visiting Chaplains offer prayers when the Chaplain of the 
    House is absent.

    On June 9, 1948,(6) the prayer was offered by a woman 
minister,(7) for the first time in the history of the 
Congress.
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 6. 94 Cong. Rec. 7597, 7598, 80th Cong. 2d Sess.
 7. Rev. Annalee Stewart, of Chicago and Boston.
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    On June 21, 1965,(8) the prayer was offered in the House 
by Rev. Harold S. Horan, son of Walter F. Horan, a former Member (1943-
55) from Washington.
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 8. 111 Cong. Rec. 14097, 89th Cong. 1st. Sess.
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