Chaplain of the United States House of Representatives
The chaplain of the United States House of Representatives is the officer of the United States House of Representatives responsible for beginning each day's proceedings with a prayer. The House cites the first half of Article 1, Section 2, Clause 5 in the United States Constitution as giving it the authority to elect a chaplain, "The House of Representatives shall choose their speaker and other officers".
The office of the clerk of the House explains "The other officers have been created and their duties defined by the rules of the House, which also are made pursuant to the authority of the Constitution, hence one of the rules prescribes the duties of the chaplain."
In addition to opening proceedings with prayer, the chaplain provides pastoral counseling to the House community, coordinates the scheduling of guest chaplains, and arranges memorial services for the House and its staff. In the past, chaplains have performed marriage and funeral ceremonies for House members.
Chaplains are elected as individuals and not as representatives of any religious community, body, or organization., all House chaplains have been Christian but can be members of any religion or faith group. Guest chaplains, recommended by congressional members to deliver the session's opening prayer in place of the House chaplain, have represented many different religious groups, including Judaism and Islam.
Duties
The chaplain of the United States House of Representatives is chosen to "perform ceremonial, symbolic, and pastoral duties". These responsibilities include opening House sessions with a prayer or coordinating the delivery of the prayer by guest chaplains recommended by members of the House.The House chaplain is also responsible for "hosting" guest chaplains on the day they deliver prayers.
The chaplain also provides pastoral care for members of Congress, their staffs, and their families, and provides or oversees religious programs such as Bible study, reflection groups, and the weekly Senate Prayer Breakfast. The chaplain also often presides over religious ceremonies such as funerals and memorial services for current or past members and participates, offering delivering the invocation or benediction, at many official U.S. ceremonies, including White House events. In a January 2011 post on "On Watch in Washington", the chaplain of the Senate as well as the chaplain of the House were included as part of "Obama's Spiritual Cabinet".
Along with the Senate chaplain, the House chaplain is responsible for overseeing the Capitol Prayer Room, located near the Capitol Rotunda.
Dedicated in 1955, there are no worship services held in the room, nor is it normally open to the public. Instead, as described by House Speaker Sam Rayburn during the room's dedication, it is a place for members "who want to be alone with their God."
While all House chaplains have been Christian, guest chaplains have been selected to deliver occasional prayers to open House sessions "for many decades", and have represented both Christian and non-Christian faiths, including Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, and Sikhism. Congressional members are limited to one guest chaplain recommendation per Congress,
Opening prayer
Prayer before the opening of a legislative body traces its origins back to the colonial period. At that time, before the Constitution and its amendments separated church and colonial assemblies would open proceedings with prayer.According to John Adams, when the Second Continental Congress gathered in September 1774, Thomas Cushing requested that the proceedings open with a prayer. Adams wrote that John Jay and John Rutledge, who would become the first and second Chief Justices of the U.S. Supreme Court, opposed the prayer "because we were so divided in religious Sentiments." Samuel Adams spoke in favor and the motion carried. The Congress selected Anglican priest Jacob Duché to "read Prayers to the Congress" on September 5, 1774. On that day, Rev. Duché read the service of the Church of England and an extemporaneous prayer before debates continued. Rev. Duché was later made the official chaplain of the Continental Congress and served in that capacity until five days after the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Duché eventually betrayed the cause of American independence and maligned the Continental army in a letter to George Washington. Of Independence, Duché wrote: "independency was the idol, which they had long wished to set up, & that rather than sacrifice this, they would deluge their Country in Blood" and of the "Necessity of rescinding the hasty & ill-advised declaration of Independency." Of the army, "Have you, can you have the least Confidence in a Sett of undisciplined Men, & Officers, many of whom have been taken from the lowest of the People, without Principle, without Courage."
The tradition of prayers ended at the Constitutional Convention. When Benjamin Franklin proposed a prayer on June 28, 1787, the Convention rejected his proposal. Alexander Hamilton supposedly argued against the motion because the delegates did not need to call in "foreign aid," though the story is perhaps apocryphal. However, it is certain that the Constitutional Convention did not even vote on Franklin's prayer motion, let alone pass the resolution. “After several unsuccessful attempts for silently postponing the matter by adjourning,” it failed. Franklin himself wrote that “The Convention, except three or four persons, thought Prayers unnecessary."
The clerk of the House notes that "On December 22, 1776; on December 13, 1784; and on February 29, 1788, it was resolved that two chaplains should be appointed. So far for the old American Congress ."
In 1789, chaplain's prayers opened Congress, both House and Senate. Different denominations were appointed to House and Senate, presumably with the goal of pluralism.
The clerk of the House points out "The chaplain opens each day's session with prayer, for which he receives a salary...It is not stipulated that prayers be short, or that Members stand during the service, but brevity and reverence are usually observed."
Ministry of Outreach
The official brochure of the chaplain of the United States House of Representatives lists the following elements of the "ministry of outreach" provided by the chaplain:- To bring a dimension of faith to human events, giving praise and thanks to God for what God is doing in the world, in the nation, and in and through leaders and ordinary citizens
- To offer counsel for Members of Congress, families, and staff
- To welcome and assist guest chaplains on their day of service to the House
- To receive religious leaders from across the nation and around the world
- To develop interfaith dialogue for better understanding and relationships
- To meet representatives of other nations to discuss how religion and politics interface on Capitol Hill
- To provide answers to religious questions and research information about religious organizations and services in the area of Capitol Hill
- To sponsor occasional activities of a religious nature for Members of Congress and staff
- To offer a Web site with pertinent information about the Chaplain's Office
History
Shortly after Congress first convened in April 1789 in New York City, one of its "first orders of business" was to convene a committee to recommend a chaplain, eventually selecting the Reverend William Linn as the first chaplain of the United States House of Representatives. The clerk of the House relates "The First Congress under the Constitution began on the 4th of March, 1789; but there was not a quorum for business till the 1st of April. On the 9th of that month Oliver Ellsworth was appointed, on the part of the Senate, to confer with a committee of the House on Rules, and on the appointment of chaplains. The House chose five men - Boudinot, Bland, Tucker, Sherman, and Madison. The result of their consultation was a recommendation to appoint two chaplains of different denominations - one by the Senate and one by the House - to interchange weekly. The Senate appointed Dr. Provost, on the 25th of April. On the 1st day of May, Washington's first speech was read to the House, and the first business after the speech was the appointment of Dr. Linn as chaplain....The law of 1789 was passed in compliance with their plan, giving chaplains a salary...It was reenacted in 1816, and continues to the present time....Originally the chaplain was not an official of the House. A concurrent resolution named two clergymen of different denominations, who, interchanging weekly supplied the Senate and House." The two chaplains also conducted Sunday services for the Washington community in the House chamber every other week.
When the body moved to Philadelphia in 1790, and then to Washington, D.C., clergy from various Christian denominations continued to be selected, delivering prayers and presiding at funerals and memorial services. During this early period, chaplains "typically served" for less than a year while concurrently serving in non-congressional positions.
Clergy have served in the official position of House Chaplain for all years since the office was created except for the brief period of 1855-1861. According to the clerk of the House, "During a protracted struggle over the organization of the House in the 34th Congress, and before a chaplain was elected the House was opened alternately with prayer daily by minister of the gospel of Washington."
The "status remained unfixed. It was objected that neither the Constitution nor the law recognized such an officer, and not until the payment of his salary depended upon his taking the ironclad oath, adopted in 1862 did his official character become established."
Since 1914, the Chaplain's Prayer has been included in the Congressional Record.
The chaplain of the House of Representatives and the chaplain of the Senate became full-time positions in the middle of the 20th century.