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Date of Prayer: 20 April 1988
Sponsor: Rep. Robert Roe (D-NJ)
Rep. Roe: Mr. Speaker, it is with great pride that I rise today to welcome an outstanding religious leader from my Eighth Congressional District of New Jersey, Rabbi Arnold Mark Belzer of Franklin Lakes, who has offered us a most inspirational message in providing the opening prayer to our session today. Rabbi Belzer is with Temple Beth Rishon of Wyckoff, New Jersey, which is also known as the Wyckoff-Franklin Lakes Synagogue. Temple Beth Rishon has served as the spiritual home for a great many worshipers from the greater northwest Bergen County, New Jersey, area for the past 13 years. I might note that when Rabbi Belzer assumed the leadership of Temple Beth Rishon in 1981, the congregation numbered 125 families. Today, through his dynamic and visionary leadership, that number has risen to 360 families and this fine congregation is still growing. And, in addition to his congregational duties, Rabbi Belzer also serves as east coast director of the Sino-Judaic Institute and as vice president of the Mastery Foundation, an ecumenical organization which trains clergy of all denominations. Mr. Speaker, along with coming to Washington to offer our opening prayer here this morning. Rabbi Belzer has one other important mission here, to visit his son, Nathan Belzer. Nathan, who I am proud to say is my page here in Congress, has not only been elected president of his page class while maintaining a perfect 4.0 average in his studies, but also has been selected as the Speaker’s page, accomplishments of which I know his father and mother are justifiably proud. I want to invite you, Mr. Speaker, and all of our colleagues to join me in welcoming Rabbi Arnold Mark Belzer to the House this afternoon.
| Contribute a translation | Source (English) |
|---|---|
Lord God, Creator of all humanity, Cause love, harmony, and peace to abide among us. Cause us to know that in a world faced with monumental challenges that there can be no neutrality— “either we are the ministers of the sacred or the slaves of evil.”[1] Source of quotation unknown. | |
Lord, during recent generations great evil has been revealed to us. Let us through our lives, be witness to the revelation of goodness. | |
Lord, we know that we will triumph over evil if we shall be as sacrificial, courageous, and steadfast “in our homes, our schools, and offices, and in our Congress, as our soldiers have been on the fields of battle.”[2] Source of quotation unknown. | |
Give us strength in moments of temptation. Renew our faith, at times of doubt. Give us courage, in moments of weariness. Hallow our lives with loyalty and integrity. | |
May our prayers be with us as we face the world and may Your presence in our hearts be reflected in the way we live our lives. | |
Dear God, bless the Members of the House of Representatives their staff people and the pages who serve them. | |
Amen. |
Source(s)
100th Congress, 2nd Session. C-SPAN.
Congressional Record, Vol. 134, Part 6 — Bound Edition, p. 7665.
Congressional Record v. 134, part 6 – 20 April 1988, p. 7665
“Prayer of the Guest Chaplain of the U.S. House of Representatives: Rabbi Arnold Mark Belzer on 20 April 1988” is shared through the Open Siddur Project with a Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication 1.0 Universal license.
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