Friend:

In recent years, town councils and state legislatures around the country have come under attack for opening their meetings and sessions with prayer. I founded a bipartisan organization called the Congressional Prayer Caucus to recognize that, for over 200 years, prayer has played a central role in strengthening the fabric and foundation of our society.

The United States Supreme Court said, The opening of sessions of legislative and other deliberative public bodies with prayer is deeply embedded in the history and tradition of this country. From colonial times through the founding of the Republic and ever since, the practice of legislative prayer has coexisted with the principles of disestablishment and religious freedom.

The first act of the first Congress was to bring in a minister to pray and read four chapters out of the Bible.  Since the election of the Chaplain of the House in 1789, each day’s proceedings have opened with a prayer by a chaplain. You can read the prayer of the day on the chaplains website here: http://chaplain.house.gov/ Additionally, on the first night the House is in session each week, I join other Members of the Prayer Caucus in a room right off of the House floor to pray for our nation.

I will continue to affirm our nations spiritual history and our Judeo-Christian roots and protect our right to pray.

Yours in service,

Congressman Randy Forbes