The Congressional Prayer Caucus: Continuing the 234-year history of fulfilling the vital role of prayer in America

"Be Thou present, O God of wisdom, and direct the councils of this honorable assembly."  That was the very first prayer in the United States Congress on September 7, 1774.  That is the verse which one reads when going to the home page of the new bipartisan Congressional Prayer Caucus founded by Virginia Republican Congressman Randy Forbes.  He and his fellow members of this caucus are to be commended for emphasizing the importance of prayer in the history of America including in the United States Congress.

The following is described as the purpose of the Congressional Prayer Caucus:  "Throughout the more than 200-year history of our nation, prayer has played a vital role in strengthening the fabric of our society. The purposes of the Congressional Prayer Caucus are to (1) recognize the vital role that prayer by individuals of all faiths has played in uniting us as a people and in making us a more generous, more cooperative, and more forgiving people than we might otherwise have been; (2) collect, exchange, and disseminate information about prayer as a fundamental and enduring feature of American life; (3) use the legislative process – both through sponsorship of affirmative legislation and through opposition to detrimental legislation – to assist the nation and its people in continuing to draw upon and benefit from this essential source of our strength and well-being."

The Members of the Congressional Prayer Caucus are also people of action.  For example, recently they won a victory with regards to the new United States Capitol Visitors Center. Their website says that "Over the past several months, Members of the Congressional Prayer Caucus, along with over fifty of their colleagues, have written letters to overseers of the Capitol Visitor Center (CVC) asking for information as well as changes in the CVC exhibits--especially in matters of our nation's Judeo-Christian heritage. 

"In response to multiple correspondences and legislative action, the Chairmen and Ranking Members of both the Committee on Senate Rules and Administration and the Committee on House Administration, committed to the following changes:

• That the phrase "Our Nation's Motto" be removed from the plaque describing the engraving of E Pluribus Unum;
• That "In God We Trust" be engraved in stone in a prominent location within the Capitol Visitor Center and that the panel describing the engraving include the proper recognition of this phrase as our national motto;
• That the Pledge of Allegiance be engraved in stone in a prominent location within the Capitol Visitor Center;
• The research and development of a permanent religious history display and placement in the Capitol Visitor Center as soon as possible  

In a recent email to supporters, the Congressional Prayer Caucus had a section entitled "Rep. McCotter and Rep. Garrett Address Religious Freedom Issues for Minority Groups."  Congressman Thaddeus McCotter, R-MI is circulating a letter for signatures amongst his colleagues to be sent to President George W. Bush asking for his intervention on behalf of Iraq's minority religious groups.  Congressman Scott Garrett, R-NJ, recently urged Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice to demand that Turkey address and abandon its human rights infractions and cease from its discrimination practices against religious minority groups.

Finally, in its recent communication to its supporters, the Congressional Prayer Caucus had a spotlight on one its most important caucus members, Congresswoman Marilyn Musgrave, a Republican from Colorado, who has been a tremendous pro-life champion during her time in Congress.  She also was the author of the constitutional amendment upholding traditional marriage as that between one man and one woman.  

Besides giving a short biography of Congresswoman Musgrave they include a quote by her:  "My faith is foundational to the work I do as a Member of Congress.  The Prayer Caucus is instrumental in reminding me, and other Christian Members of Congress, that we serve God first and our country second.  Prayer ultimately guides us as we make critical decisions everyday.” 

We encourage supporters of Christian Coalition of America to contact their Members of Congress to ask them to join the bipartisan Congressional Prayer Caucus.