Prayer of the Guest Chaplain of the U.S. House of Representatives: Rabbi Dr. Daniel P. Parker on 23 July 1962

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Date: 2024-06-17

Last Updated: 2025-02-02

Categories: 🇺🇸 United States of America, Opening Prayers for Legislative Bodies

Tags: 20th century C.E., 58th century A.M., 87th Congress, English vernacular prayer, Prayers of Guest Chaplains, U.S. House of Representatives, תחינות teḥinot

Excerpt: The Opening Prayer given in the U.S. House of Representatives on 23 July 1962. . . .

Content:

Guest Chaplain: Dr. Daniel P. Parker, rabbi, Temple Zion, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Sponsor: n/a
Date of Prayer: 23 July 1962

Contribute a translation	Source (English)
	Sovereign of the universe, we thank Thee for Thy bountiful kindness unto us, for life and its blessings, for health of body and happiness of home, for the welfare of our people, and the peace of our beloved Nation.
	Even in thanksgiving, though, we beseech Thee to put to nought the counsel of those that devise evil against us.
	Strengthen our cherished land of freedom, that it might send forth the light of liberty unto those who still struggle in darkness.
	May Thy blessings rest upon our lawmakers. Let them unite in concord that the commonweal may be advanced. Guide them to work with the righteous of all nations and creeds, so that hatred among men shall cease, the walls of prejudice separating peoples shall crumble and fall, and men and states will dwell together in amity. Amen.

This prayer of the guest chaplain was offered in the seventh month of the first session of the 87th US House of Representatives, and published in the Congressional Record, vol. 108 part 11 (23 July 1962), page 14398.

Source(s)

Congressional Record, vol. 108, part 11 (23 July 1962), p. 14398

Contributor: Aharon N. Varady (transcription)

Co-authors:

Name: Daniel P. Parker
Bio: Rabbi Dr. Daniel P. Parker (1922-2002) was a political science professor and Reform movement rabbi in the United States. He graduated from Emory University in Atlanta after majoring in political science. During World War II he served with the Army in the Philippines. After his discharge, he earned a masters and, in 1951, a doctoral degree in political science at the University of Pennsylvania. He began to study privately with a rabbi while also preparing to become a college professor. For over 30 years he taught political science at the Baruch College of the City University of New York until deciding to become a full-time rabbi. He served at Congregation Temple Zion in Northeast Philadelphia and later Huntingdon Valley from 1962 to the 1990s.
Website:
Profile Link: https://opensiddur.org/profile/daniel-parker

Name: the Congressional Record of the United States of America
Bio: The Congressional Record is the official record of the proceedings and debates of the United States Congress, published by the United States Government Printing Office and issued when Congress is in session. Indexes are issued approximately every two weeks. At the end of a session of Congress, the daily editions are compiled in bound volumes constituting the permanent edition. Statutory authorization for the Congressional Record is found in Chapter 9 of Title 44 of the United States Code. (wikipedia)
Website: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Congressional_Record
Profile Link: https://opensiddur.org/profile/united-states-congressional-record

Name: Aharon N. Varady (transcription)
Bio: Aharon Varady (M.A.J.Ed./JTSA Davidson) is a volunteer transcriber for the Open Siddur Project. If you find any mistakes in his transcriptions, please let him know. Shgiyot mi yavin; Ministarot naqeni שְׁגִיאוֹת מִי־יָבִין; מִנִּסְתָּרוֹת נַקֵּנִי "Who can know all one's flaws? From hidden errors, correct me" (Psalms 19:13). If you'd like to directly support his work, please consider donating via his Patreon account. (Varady also translates prayers and contributes his own original work besides serving as the primary shammes of the Open Siddur Project and its website, opensiddur.org.)
Website: https://aharon.varady.net
Profile Link: https://opensiddur.org/profile/aharon-varady-transcription

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