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Jan. 21, 2025 15:25-16:46 - CSPAN
01:19:59
Pres. Trump & Vice Pres. Vance Attend National Prayer Service
Transcriber: nvidia/parakeet-tdt-0.6b-v2, sat-12l-sm, and large-v3-turbo Source
Participants
Main
bishop mariann edgar budde
14:31

Speaker Time Text
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Up next, President Trump and Vice President Vance attending the National Prayer Service on day two of their term.
The Washington National Cathedral has hosted the interfaith event the day after the inauguration since 1933.
This is about an hour and 20 minutes.
Will be in the sweet before me.
O Great Spirit, who dwells in the sky, lead us to the path of peace and understanding.
Let all of us live together as brothers and sisters.
Our lives are short here, walking upon Mother Earth's surface.
Let our eyes be opened to all the blessings you have given us.
Please hear our prayers, O Great Spirit.
the Lord, Good
Service Of Prayer For Our Nation 00:13:47
unidentified
morning and welcome to Washington National Cathedral.
My name is Randy Hollerith.
I am the Dean of the Cathedral.
I'm Bishop Mary Ann Buddy, Bishop of the Diocese of Washington.
bishop mariann edgar budde ▲ ● ▼
Welcome.
unidentified
We have been honored to host a service of prayer for our nation on the day after the inauguration here at the Cathedral since 1933 and the inauguration of President Franklin Roosevelt.
As we mark the transition of political leadership and begin a new chapter in the story of America, may these sacred texts, songs, and petitions from the many faith traditions of our country inspire and challenge us to care for one another and to live according to the highest ideals to which God has called us.
Thank you for being here, and please know that we are a house of prayer for all people, and you are always welcome here.
bishop mariann edgar budde ▲ ● ▼
O God, be merciful to us and bless us.
unidentified
Show us the light of your countenance and come to us.
bishop mariann edgar budde ▲ ● ▼
Let your ways be known upon earth.
unidentified
Let the peoples praise you, O God.
Let all the peoples praise you.
Let the nations be glad and sing for joy.
For you judge the peoples with equity, guide all the nations upon earth.
bishop mariann edgar budde ▲ ● ▼
Blessed be the one holy and living God.
Glory to God.
unidentified
Let us pray.
O God, you made us in your image and redeemed us through Jesus your Son.
Look with compassion on the whole human family.
Take away the arrogance and hatred which infect our hearts.
Break down the walls that separate us.
Unite us in bonds of love.
And work through our struggle and confusion to accomplish your purposes on earth.
That in your good time all nations and races may serve you in harmony around your heavenly throne.
Through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Reading from
the Torah.
For the Holy One your God is eternal and supreme, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who shows no favor and takes no bribe, but upholds the cause of the orphan and the widow, and befriends the stranger, providing those who need with food and clothing.
You too must befriend the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.
You must revere and honor the Holy One your God.
Only God shall you worship.
To God shall you hold fast, and by the name of the Holy One shall you swear.
God is your glory and the one who brought for you those marvelous, awesome deeds that you saw with your own eyes.
Accept the
fervent prayer of people for our nation and for all those who govern.
Lord God Almighty, you have made all the peoples of the earth for your glory, to serve you in freedom and in peace.
Give to the people of our country a zeal for justice and the strength of forbearance, that we may use our liberty in accordance with your gracious will.
Almighty and ever-living God, ruler of all things in heaven and earth, grant to the president, vice president, and members of the cabinet wisdom and grace in the exercise of their duties that they may serve all people of this nation and promote the dignity and freedom of every person.
Keep this nation under your care.
O Lord, whose will is good and gracious and whose law is truth, grant to senators and representatives who we entrust to make our laws courage and foresight to provide for the needs of all our people, and to the justices of the Supreme Court and the judges and officers of all
our courts.
give understanding and integrity that human rights may be safeguarded and justice served.
Keep this nation under your care.
And guide us in the way of justice and truth.
Almighty God, instill in the governors of the states, mayors of cities and towns, and in all administrative and governmental authority the spirit of wisdom, charity, and justice.
That with steadfast purpose, they may faithfully serve in their offices to promote the well-being of all people.
Keep this nation under your care.
We rise to the way of justice.
O Lord our God, bless all who dedicate themselves to governing in our land.
Fill them with the love of truth and strength to uphold our democracy and the rule of law.
Enable us to be a people at peace among ourselves and a blessing to other nations of the world.
May we serve you faithfully in our generation.
You
his grace.
this
for the fore and for the sun for our finger.
Believe in Allah and His Messenger 00:03:46
unidentified
We seek
refuge with Allah from Satan and rejected.
In the name of Allah, the most gracious, the most merciful.
He is the one who created the heavens and the earth in six days, and he established himself on the throne.
He knows whatever goes into the earth and whatever comes out of it, and whatever descends from the sky and whatever ascends into it.
And he is with you wherever you are.
For Allah is all-seeing of what you do.
And to Allah, all matters are returned.
He merges the night into the day and the day into the night.
He knows best what is hidden in the heart.
Believe in Allah and His Messenger and donate from what He has entrusted with you.
So those of you who believe and donate will have a mighty reward.
Ashadu ala illaha illallah Ashadu ala muhammedan rasulullah
Prayers for Those Linked Closely 00:15:32
unidentified
Ajad al-Muhammad al-Rasulullah
God of compassion be near to all who call upon your name in the course of daily life, work, and service.
Let us pray for those who, through any form of service, offer themselves in devotion to our nation.
Almighty God, we commend to your gracious care and keeping all the men and women of our armed forces at home and abroad.
Defend them day by day with your heavenly grace in places of danger and do them with courage and loyalty.
Guide those who represent our nation as members of diplomatic corps that they may be ambassadors of hope working for peace and goodwill among all people.
Give us grace to do your will in all that we undertake.
Let our works be my favor, your side.
One universal God, creator and sustainer, uphold all civil servants.
May they serve with integrity and compassion, without justice or partiality, to better their communities and the nation.
Give us grace to do your will in all what we undertake.
O God, the fountain of all wisdom, enlightened by your Holy Spirit, all teachers and educators.
Give them a spirit of grace and compassion, that they may have the strength and endurance to instill a love of learning, new discovery, and the pursuit of wisdom in those they teach.
Give us grace to do your will in all that we undertake.
God of help and hope, surround with your loving care all first responders, police, firefighters, emergency medical technicians, and all health care workers who devote their lives to helping others.
Grant them courage when afraid and strength when weary, that they may serve you and their neighbor.
Give us grace to do your will in all that we undertake.
Give to all the people of our land, O God, the desire to serve you in their life's work and vocation.
May your presence be manifest in all that we say and do.
Weave together the work of every hand and the commitment of every heart.
we recognize our interdependence, our responsibilities to one another, and the mutuality of our destiny.
God, the earth might be your.
Reading from the Gospel according to St. Matthew Jesus said, Everyone then who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock.
The rain fell, the floods came, and the wind blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on rock.
And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not act on them will be like a foolish man who built his house on sand.
The rain fell and the floods came, and the winds blew.
It beat against that house and it fell, and great was its fall.
Now, when Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were astounded at his teaching, for he had taught them as one having authority and not as the scribes.
Unless we love our...
Let us pray for the most vulnerable in our...
And lead us to be present with them in their suffering.
Lord, you have taught us that we are members of one another.
Hear our prayer for all who do the tedious, dirty, and dangerous work which is necessary to sustain our life.
Bless those who work the fields and grant that all who depend upon their service may remember them with thankful hearts.
Bless all who live, whose lives are closely linked with ours.
Almighty and most merciful God, we remember before you the poor and neglected, the unemployed and the underemployed, the homeless and the destitute, the sick and suffering, the rejected and disempowered.
Give them the blessing of your presence, that all in need may be relieved and protected.
Bless all whose lives are closely linked with ours, that we may love one another as you loves us.
We pray for all children and young people growing up in an unstable and confusing world.
Show them that yours is the way of life.
Should they fall short of their own expectations, help them to see it not as a measure of their worth, but as a chance for a new beginning.
Give them strength to hold their faith in you and to keep alive their joy in your creation.
Bless all whose lives are closely linked with ours.
Look with compassion, O Heavenly Father, upon the widowed and orphans, outcasts and refugees, prisoners, and all who are in danger.
that they may find you and be comforted.
Bless all whose lives are closely linked with ours.
that we may love one another as you love us.
One universal creator God, you have blessed us and given us dominion over all the earth.
Increase our reverence before the mystery of life and give us new insight into your purpose for humankind and new wisdom and determination in making provision for its future in accordance with your will.
Bless all whose lives are closely linked with ours.
Amen, They Are Starving 00:01:19
unidentified
That we may love one another as you love us.
Merciful God, fill our hearts with your self-giving love, that our voice may speak your praise.
As you have moved toward us in love, so lead us to be present with all your people, that we may faithfully minister in your name and witness to your love and grace to all the world.
Amen.
Destroying Stars in Peace 00:02:28
unidentified
They are starving.
I love the hearts in our body in this land by sight.
We are high and safe.
His father destroys Christ in peace.
I destroy the stars in peace, the songs for God in
Unity Across Diversity 00:14:44
bishop mariann edgar budde ▲ ● ▼
May the words of my mouth and the meditation of all our hearts be acceptable in your sight, O God, for you are our strength and our redeemer.
Amen.
Please be seated.
Again, my warm welcome to all who have gathered in this house of prayer for all people and for those who are joining us via live stream.
As a country, we have gathered this morning to pray for unity as a people and a nation.
Not for agreement, political or otherwise, but for the kind of unity that fosters community across diversity and division, a unity that serves the common good.
Unity in this sense is a threshold requirement for people to live in freedom and together in a free society.
It is the solid rock, as Jesus said in this case, upon which to build a nation.
It is not conformity.
It is not victory.
It is not polite weariness or passive passivity born of exhaustion.
Unity is not partisan.
Rather, unity is a way of being with one another, that it encompasses and respects our differences, that teaches us to hold multiple perspectives and life experiences as valid and worthy of respect, that enables us in our communities and in the halls of power to genuinely care for one another, even when we disagree.
Those across our country who dedicate their lives or who volunteer to help others in times of natural disaster, often at great risk to themselves, never ask those they are helping for whom they voted in a past election or what positions they hold on a particular issue.
And we are at our best when we follow their example.
For unity at times is sacrificial in the way that love is sacrificial, a giving of ourselves for the sake of another.
In his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus of Nazareth exhorts us to love not only our neighbors, but to love our enemies, and to pray for those who persecute us, to be merciful as our God is merciful, to forgive others as God forgives us.
And Jesus went out of his way to welcome those whom his society deemed as outcasts.
Now I grant you that unity in this broad, expansive sense is aspirational and it's a lot to pray for.
It's a big ask of our God, worthy of the best of who we are and who we can be.
But there isn't much to be gained by our prayers if we act in ways that further deepen the divisions among us.
Our scriptures are quite clear about this, that God is never impressed with prayers when actions are not informed by them.
Nor does God spare us from the consequences of our deeds, which always, in the end, matter more than the words we pray.
Those of us gathered here in the cathedral, we are not naïve about the realities of politics.
When power and wealth and competing interests are at stake, when views of what America should be are in conflict, when there are strong opinions across a spectrum of possibilities and starkly different understandings of what the right course of action is,
there will be winners and losers when votes are cast, decisions made that set the course of public policy, and the prioritization of resources.
It goes without saying that in a democracy, not everyone's particular hopes and dreams can be realized in a given legislative session or a presidential term, not even in a generation.
Which is to say, not everyone's specific prayers, for those of us who are people of prayer, not everyone's prayers will be answered in the way we would like.
But for some, the loss of their hopes and dreams will be far more than political defeat, but instead a loss of equality and dignity and their livelihoods.
Given this, then, is true unity among us even possible?
And why should we care about it?
Well, I hope we care.
I hope we care.
Because the culture of contempt that has become normalized in this country threatens to destroy us.
We are all bombarded daily with messages from what sociologists now call the outrage industrial complex.
Some of that driven by external forces whose interests are furthered by a polarized America.
Contempt fuels political campaigns and social media, and many profit from that.
But it's a worrisome, it's a dangerous way to lead a country.
I'm a person of faith, surrounded by people of faith.
And with God's help, I believe that unity in this country is possible.
Not perfectly, for we are imperfect people and an imperfect union, but sufficient enough to keep us all believing in and working to realize the ideals of the United States of America.
Ideals expressed in the Declaration of Independence with its assertion of innate human equality and dignity.
And we are right to pray for God's help as we seek unity, for we need God's help.
But only if we ourselves are willing to tend to the foundations upon which unity depends.
Like Jesus' analogy of building a house of faith on the rock of his teachings as opposed to building a house on sand, the foundations we need for unity must be sturdy enough to withstand the many storms that threaten it.
And so what are they?
The foundations of unity?
Drawing from our sacred traditions and text, let me suggest that there are at least three.
The first foundation for unity is honoring the inherent dignity of every human being, which is, as all the faiths represented here affirm, the birthright of all people as children of our one God.
In public discourse, honoring each other's dignity means refusing to mock or discount or demonize those with whom we differ, choosing instead to respect, respectfully debate our differences and whenever possible to seek common ground.
And if common ground is not possible, dignity demands that we remain true to our convictions without contempt for those who hold convictions of their own.
The second foundation for unity is honesty in both private conversation and public discourse.
If we're not willing to be honest, there's no use in praying for unity because our actions work against the prayers themselves.
We might for a time experience a false sense of unity among some, but not the sturdier, broader unity that we need to address the challenges that we face.
Now to be fair, we don't always know where the truth lies, and there's a lot working against the truth now.
But when we do know, when we know what is true, it's incumbent upon us to speak the truth, even when, especially when, it costs us.
And the third and last foundation I'll mention today is foundation for unity is humility, which we all need, because we are all fallible human beings.
We make mistakes.
We say and do things that we later regret.
We have our blind spots and our biases.
And perhaps we are most dangerous to ourselves and others when we are persuaded without a doubt that we are absolutely right and someone else is absolutely wrong.
Because then we are just a few steps from labeling ourselves as the good people versus the bad people.
And the truth is that we're all people.
We're both capable of good and bad.
Alexander Solzhenitsyn once astutely observed that the line separating good and evil passes not through states, not between classes, nor between political parties, but through right through every human heart, through all human hearts.
And the more we realize this, the more room we have within ourselves for humility and openness to one another across our differences, because in fact we are more like one another than we realize.
And we need each other.
Unity is relatively easy to pray for on occasions of great solemnity.
It's a lot harder to realize when we're dealing with real differences in our private lives and in the public arena.
But without unity, we're building our nation's house on sand.
And with a commitment to unity that incorporates diversity and transcends disagreement, and with the solid foundations of dignity, honesty, and humility that such unity requires, we can do our part and in our time to realize the ideals and the dream of America.
Let me make one final plea, Mr. President.
Millions have put their trust in you.
And as you told the nation yesterday, you have felt the providential hand of a loving God.
In the name of our God, I ask you to have mercy upon the people in our country who are scared now.
There are gay, lesbian, and transgender children in Democratic, Republican, and Independent families.
Some who fear for their lives.
And the people, the people who pick our crops and clean our office buildings, who labor in poultry farms and meat packing plants, who wash the dishes after we eat in restaurants and work the night shifts in hospitals, they may not be citizens or have the proper documentation.
But the vast majority of immigrants are not criminals.
They pay taxes and are good neighbors.
They are faithful members of our churches and mosques, synagogues, wadara, and temples.
I ask you to have mercy, Mr. President, on those in our communities whose children fear that their parents will be taken away.
And that you help those who are fleeing war zones and persecution in their own lands to find compassion and welcome here.
Our God teaches us that we are to be merciful to the stranger.
For we were all once strangers in this land.
May God grant us the strength and courage to honor the dignity of every human being, to speak the truth to one another in love, and walk humbly with each other and our God for the good of all people, good of all people in this nation and the world.
Seeking Your Face 00:06:17
unidentified
Amen.
It seems like there is just division, and there'll be no peace.
We are trusting in your promise.
You will not leave us in despair.
And if we pray and just stay humble, you'd hear our every prayer.
Oh, praying for peace, praying for strength, touched with your powerful hands as we humble ourselves and seek your face promise that you'd heal our lives.
Oh God, we lift up all the children, keep them safe from heart's wear.
Oh God, we know that there are future please hear us when we pray.
Oh we pray, we need you, Lord.
With no power, seek your face that you'd hear.
Shake, shake, shake.
seek your face that you'd heal our lives.
We keep on praying today.
Keep on praying and seek your face that you heal.
Please stand as you are able.
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.
May Divisions Heal 00:07:33
unidentified
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever.
Amen.
Grant, O God, that your holy and life-giving spirit may so move every human heart, and especially the hearts of the people of this land.
that barriers which divide us may crumble, suspicions disappear, and hatred cease.
That our divisions being healed, we may live in justice and peace through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
May penetrating light dispel the darkness of ignorance.
May Al Kama be resolved and the mineflower of wisdom bloom in Nibbana's eternal spring.
May all living beings in peace and harmony live.
May they have health and wealth and contentment and friends that are true.
May they have skills, talents, and knowledge and sweet success in all that they do.
May they have joy and happiness and abundance.
May all beautiful great and noble virtues of generosity, love, kindness, compassion, patience, fortitude, tolerance, forgiveness, honesty, courage, strength, energy, resolution, determination, resilience, perseverance, consideration, humility, generosity, gratitude, contentment, composure, serenity, understanding, and equanimity be theirs.
May they attain full wisdom and liberation.
O God, you have bound us together in a common life.
Help us, in the midst of our struggles for justice and truth, to confront one another without hatred or bitterness, and to work together with mutual forbearance and respect.
Through Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Amen.
Let us pray.
Almighty God, you have given us this good land as our heritage.
Make us always remember your generosity and constantly do your will.
Bless our land with honest industry, sound learning, and an honorable way of life.
Save us from violence, discord, and confusion, from pride and arrogance, and from every evil way.
Make us who come from many nations with many different languages a united people.
Defend our liberties and give those whom we have entrusted with the authority of government the spirit of wisdom that there might be justice and peace in our land.
When times are prosperous, let our hearts be thankful.
And in troubled times, do not let our trust in you fail.
We ask all this through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
And now may the Lord bless you and keep you.
bishop mariann edgar budde ▲ ● ▼
The Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you.
The Lord lift his countenance upon you and give you peace.
Amen.
unidentified
Go forth in peace, be watchful, stand firm in your face, be courageous and strong.
Let all that you do be done in love.
Thanks be to God.
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