Watching congess on C-Span....There's a House Chaplain?

[Webster Green]

Some Rev. just said a prayer. I was shocked! I never saw that before. Isn't it unconstitutional to be praying in the US House?

After that, the members recited the Pledge of Allegiance.

Man, it was creepy!:scared:

[rpgamerd00d]

1. All official political meetings start with Pledge of Allegiance...

...As far as I know.

The prayer part, I don't know about.

[Idioteque]

5. Actually, the House didn't start with the pledge until 1988...

...when it became a campaign issue that Michael Dukakis veto'd requiring the pledge in high schools. The House voted to add the pledge as a sort of slap in the face to Dukakis.

The Senate didn't start saying the pledge until after 9/11 I think.

[FreedomAngel82]

8. Oh of course

Gotta show that patrotism don't you know! Other wise you're just a hater.

[Idioteque]

2. The House and Senate each have their own Chaplain n/t

[kevinmc]

7. And the Mafia has a Priest .... it's all good ....n/t

[radio4progressives]

3. They've been doing this for as long as i can remember..

you're just now seeing it for the first time?

Welcome Citizen, Particpant of our failed democracy!

[Armstead]

4. I think it was once of the first acts of Congress to create that position

My history may be fuzzy, but I think I read that somewhere.

[LA lady]

6. Always has been

Chaplain's Office

Barry C. Black

"Throughout the years, the United States Senate has honored the historic separation of Church and State, but not the separation of God and State. The first Senate, meeting in New York City on April 25, 1789, elected the Right Reverend Samuel Provost, the Episcopal Bishop of New York, as its first Chaplain. During the past two hundred and seven years, all sessions of the Senate have been opened with prayer, strongly affirming the Senate's faith in God as Sovereign Lord of our Nation. The role of the Chaplain as spiritual advisor and counselor has expanded over the years from a part-time position to a full-time job as one of the Officers of the Senate. The Office of the Chaplain is nonpartisan, nonpolitical, and nonsectarian."
http://www.senate.gov/reference/office/chaplain.htm


The Reverend Daniel P. Coughlin

"To serve as Chaplain for the U.S. House of Representatives is truly an honor and a privilege. At one and the same time to be a minister of the Lord and an officer serving the United States government responds to a two-fold call to serve others and offer prayer which unites heaven and earth."


http://chaplain.house.gov/

[MADem]

9. Yep, there's a Senate one too

They also have a doctor, a shrink, and a variety of other support entities. Frequently, guest chaplains are invited from varying denominations to do the opening prayer--everyone from Rabbis to Imams have gotten up and done the deed.

The appointing of the present House chaplain was controversial, because he is RC and his nom came around the time all the buggering priests were making the news...AND, he is the FIRST RC in the gig. Read all about him here: http://chaplain.house.gov/

I happen to actually know the Senate chaplain...he made news because he is the first of African ancestry to fill the bill, plus, he is from an odd (meaning, not a majority, so don't anyone take offense, please) denomination (Adventist) as well: http://www.senate.gov/reference/office/chaplain.htm

Our tax dollars pay these guys--they make over a hundred grand a year.

Nice work if you can get it, eh????

[oneighty]

10. One would think God's representatives would donate God's work.

But no. The last salary I could find for the senate Chaplain was 130,000 annual.

The house that year had a chaplain's budget of 300,000 or so.

But that is from Google so it could be wrong.

I once suggested to my congressman Amo Houghton that Jerry or Pat likely would do it for free. He never replied.

180

[staticstopper]

11. Ya

the few times I have caught that happening, I just figured that they had a revolving roster of clerics, like one day a rabbi, the next a buddhist monk, next an agnostic asking for guidence from the great mystery, the following week would be a priest, the next morning a preacher, the next an muslim imam...etc, etc.

Sort of fit in all Americans.

[GrumpyGreg]

12. I cannot believe you find that "creepy".

[Webster Green]

13. Are you serious?

Prayer and the pledge of allegiance back to back?

Brrrrr:scared: