63rd National Prayer Breakfast
Floor Speech
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The Honorable ROGER F. WICKER: Good morning, everyone. I am Senator Roger Wicker from Mississippi, and together with my colleague, Senator Bob Casey from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, we welcome you to the 63rd Annual National Prayer Breakfast.
It is an honor to serve with Bob as co-chairman this year, and we thank you for joining us this morning. Each year this event is one of the most special and memorable in Washington. Today, some 3,500 of us have gathered in this ballroom and in auxiliary rooms down the hall. We represent all 50 states and 130 nations. As the Psalm says, ``Oh, let the nations be glad and sing for joy, for Thou shall judge the people righteously and govern the nations of the earth. Let the people praise Thee, oh God. Let all the people praise Thee.'' So, for the 130 nations represented in this room today--be glad, be joyful, and praise God.
Since 1953, the National Prayer Breakfast has exemplified and celebrated the power of prayer and fellowship in our lives. We come together as Ephesians 5:19 directs us, ``Addressing one another in Psalms and hymns, and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart.''
We have a truly remarkable program with guests and performers this morning. Like our weekly prayer breakfasts in the Senate and the House, we will have Scripture, prayers, songs, and speakers sharing their stories and reflections. Our hope is that you leave today with new blessings and perspectives about the strong community of faith in this country and around the world.
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Senator WICKER: Thank you, Bob. The Senate prayer breakfast dates back to World War II when a group of legislators met in the Senate restaurant. We can only imagine the conversations that took place during those early days as the deadliest conflict in human history swept the globe. Then as now, the weekly meetings which occur when the Senate is in session have remained largely low profile. In January of 1943, an article from the Washington Post describes them as without fanfare, front-page publicity or ballyhoo, and that is still true. In many ways our prayer breakfast is a welcome sanctuary from the politics and the partisanship we hear about. Each week we sing a hymn, we hear prayer requests that we call the ``sick and wounded report.'' We actually join hands and we pray together. And we hear a presentation from on
[Page: S2515]e of our members, but not before a very thorough introduction of that member by either Senator Mike Enzi or Senator Jim Inhofe. Now, Senator Inhofe and Enzi are here today, and I think it's high time that something be said about their introductions. Everything we do at the prayer breakfast is off the record, but this needs to be said about Senator Enzi and Senator Inhofe's introductions. Neither o
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[Page: S2515]pposition research professionals nor the FBI have a thing on Enzi and Inhofe when it comes to background checks. Mike and Jim relentlessly call former classmates, teachers, old friends, and relatives to discover something a little unusual about each week's presenter. Sometimes I wince. Sometimes I cringe. But the introduction always ends on a high note with a verse of Scripture and the suggestion that our speaker is much like a Biblical character of old. Thank you for that, Jim. Thank you for that, Mike.
And then we hear from the Senator himself or herself, a Democrat one week, a Republican the next week. What we learn about each other is a lot. During my time in the Senate prayer breakfast, we've heard from our own American sniper, our own astronaut, he's here today, our own missionaries, and we've had several, and our own award-winning composer. From camp directors, to university presidents, we've heard the good and the bad. We've heard about difficult family backgrounds. We've heard about financial bankruptcy and home foreclosures, and we've heard about spiritual journeys, from the heights of achievement to really, really tough times. It has been said, ``There is so much good in the worst of us and so much bad in the best of us that it ill behooves any of us to find fault with the rest of us,'' and that is true about the attendees in the Senate prayer breakfast. In short, on Wednesday mornings we learn we are a lot like you, and you, and every other child of God, and almost always I come away with a blessing. This morning, I acknowledge and thank the people who have gone before Bob and me in the Senate prayer breakfast leadership over the period of six decades, and along with Bob, I'm honored to continue in their tradition.
Now at this time, it is my pleasure to recognize a few distinguished guests at our head table who will not be given the opportunity to speak. And I'll ask the next three ladies to stand and remain standing, Mrs. Stevie Waltrip, Mrs. Therese Casey, and Mrs. Gayle Wicker. Thank you for joining us, ladies. Thank you so much, you may be seated.
And it is my very special honor at this point to ask each of you to give our appreciation and love to the First Lady of the United States, Mrs. Michelle Obama. [Applause]
And now, it is a special privilege for me as a Senator from Mississippi to introduce a familiar face from home. Jasmine Murray is from Columbus, Mississippi. She has been a broadcast communication major at Mississippi State University. She was a finalist on American Idol. And she was a finalist in the Miss America Pageant where she proudly represented my home state of Mississippi. Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Miss Mississippi, Jasmine Murray.
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