cwnewz.com - President Obama started off the Inauguration Day with the National Prayer Service.
President Obama spent part of the morning at the Washington National Cathedral on his first full day in office placing his own stamp on the traditional National Prayer Service with a group much larger than usual of interfaith religious leaders participating and newly written prayers meant to emphasize diversity and liberty.
The service was invitation only. This service has followed presidential inaugurals in the United States on and off since George Washington's swearing-in. The service started shortly after 10 a.m. and lasted for almost an hour and a half.
Obama and first lady Michelle Obama walked into the stately church with Vice President Biden and his wife, Jill Biden. They took seats in the front row besdie former president Bill Clinton and his wife Sen. Hillary Clinton who is Obama's nominee for secretary of state.
A markup session scheduled for attorney general nominee Eric H. Holder Jr. was postponed due to the outrageous number of Congress that were scheduled to attend the service.
The list of 20 clergy participating in the service included Rev. Samuel Lloyd, dean of the cathedral, which is the seat of the Episcopal Church in Washington; Rev. Otis Moss Jr., a prominent Baptist pastor whose son is pastor of Trinity United Church of Christ, Obama's former church; Washington Catholic Archbishop Donald Wuerl; Rev. Jim Wallis of the progressive group Sojourners; and several well-known Jewish, Muslim and Greek Orthodox leaders.
The Children of the Gospel Choir entertained the crowd by singing "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands."
Rev. Sharon Watkins, president of the Protestant denomination Disciples of Christ in North America and the first woman to have such a prominent role in the post-inaugural prayer service, delivered the sermon.
Rev. Watkins quoted a wide range of religious leaders and traditions, from Gandhi to Islam to Cherokee Indians, urging the new president to remain focused on ethical and religious values such as common good, justice and compassion.
"In times such as these, we the people need you, the leaders of the nation, to be guided by the counsel that Isaiah gave so long ago," she said. "This is the Biblical way. It is also the American way."
She told Obama, "With your swearing-in, Mr. President, the flame of America's promise burns just a little brighter for every child in this land." There is much work to do, and some of it will "tend to draw you away from your ethical center," she said.
"But we need you to hold the ground of your deepest values, of our deepest values," Rev. Watkins said. "We need you to stay focused on our shared hopes, so that we can continue to hope, too. We will follow your lead."
Moss, offering a prayer in his rich baritone, asked God to "teach us each day that we live in a nation of neighbors on an island commissioned to glorify your name, in a community that is global. We have been taught through your servant that we are all connected, impacted by what we do and what we refuse to do."
Posted by Reverend Geraldine Huckman, on 21-01-2009 16:26,
The Reverend Doctor Sharon Watkins is General Minister and President of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in the United States and Canada, a Protestant denomination. The high school teacher in me just could not help but correct both your articles. Attention to detail makes public articles much more powerful.
Christian Web News - Jesus has a way of getting right to the point, doesn't He? There was certainly no mincing of words, He came right out and said, "why are you fearful?" and then went on to say, "O you of little faith." You don't have to read between the lines to see what He was saying, they had little faith.
Christian Web News - Galatians 3:13-14. Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, "Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree''), that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.
