By Jennifer Hawks, CBF Director of Advocacy
Earlier this year, CBF joined with our ecumenical siblings and interfaith partners during several public witness events in DC. Many members of our Fellowship joined me in DC for these events asking Congress to pass a moral budget, protect public education and defend immigrants and refugees.
At one of these events, CBF was asked to offer the closing prayer. I chose to rework the “Non-Traditional Blessing” that closed my own ordination service into a “Non-Traditional Blessing for Congress.”
Now that we are living under the longest shutdown of the federal government; furloughed federal employees are missing paychecks and millions of Americans are unsure of how they will buy groceries today without SNAP, it felt like the time to pray it again.
May God bless Congress with pride in the U.S. Constitution so that Congress may assert its full Article 1 authority.
May God bless Congress with discontent at easy answers and half truths about those wrongfully removed from American streets and thrown into foreign prisons so that Congress may be our champions of due process.
May God bless Congress with greed for an economy that works for all of us so that our children may live out their full potential.
May God bless Congress with anger at injustice, oppression, abuse and exploitation of people so that Congress will lead the fight for justice, equality and peace.
May God bless Congress with a tantrum against the abuses our civil service is suffering so that they may support our veterans, feed the hungry, heal the sick, care for our elderly, bring peace to conflict zones, and spread truth to combat foreign disinformation.
May God bless Congress with tears to shed for those who suffer from pain, rejection, starvation and war so that Congress will use its power to meet their needs and reclaim America’s moral authority around the world.
May God bless Congress with a powerlessness to codify the current chaos so that the rule of law can once again be the cornerstone of American democracy.
May God bless Congress with the foolishness to believe that they really can make a difference in our world by defending democracy and protecting the rule of law.
Amen.