JUNETEENTH - Daily Congress Prayer June 20, 2023, House Guest Chaplain Senate chaplain Barry Black

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On occasion, the House guest chaplain is Senate chaplain Barry Black.
Like today.
Chaplain Black: "As we remember Juneteenth, remind us again that You have freed us from the bondage of our sinful nature. May we offer our whole selves to you that we would allow ourselves to become slaves to righteousness."

Dr. Barry C. Black, Chaplain, U.S. Senate, Washington, D.C., offered
the following prayer:
Eternal God, who alone spreads out the heavens and rules the raging
of the sea, on the very day we celebrated the freedoms You have
intended for each person, a day when, by the pen stroke of one person
in Texas, Juneteenth became the symbol of the last vestiges of slavery
in the United States, on that same day, by the stroke of violence
inflicted on the community of Willowbrook, Illinois, and other areas of
this land we love, we realize we are all still slaves to sin.
Have mercy on us, O Lord, for the countless times we commit ourselves
to bringing good news to the poor and freedom to the oppressed that,
despite our best intentions, we, all too often, succumb to the yoke of
hatred and prejudice.
As we remember Juneteenth, remind us again that You have freed us
from the bondage of our sinful nature. May we offer our whole selves to
You, that we would allow ourselves to become slaves to righteousness.
We pray in Your merciful name.
Amen.