The Office of the Chaplain United States House of Representatives

Reverend Michael Tyrone Cushman

National Association of the Church of God
West Middlesex, PA

Sponsor: Rep. Rep. Adam Schiff, (D-CA)
Date of Prayer: 06/27/2001

One Minute Speech Given in Recognition of the Guest Chaplain:

Mr. SCHIFF. Mr. Speaker, I would like to join you in welcoming today's distinguished guest chaplain, Pastor Michael Tyrone Cushman , Sr., and thank him for leading the House in prayer. As first General Overseer of the National Association of the Church of God, Pastor Cushman is responsible for more than 400 churches in the United States, Caribbean, and Africa.

For 22 years, Reverend Cushman served at the Pasadena Church of God in Pasadena, California, one of the most thriving churches in our region. Pastor Cushman distinguished himself as a force for racial reconciliation and more harmonious human relations in southern California. In his new position, his mission is to unify the black and white branches of the Church of God.

I am proud to say, that although Dr. Cushman will travel the world in his new position, he and his wife, Jacqueline, will maintain a home in Altadena, California, which I am proud to represent. Although we will sorely miss his influence in our community on a daily basis, I am happy to note that he will maintain an advisory role at the Pasadena Church of God.

I am proud to welcome Chaplain Cushman here today as our guest chaplain.

Opening Prayer Given by the Guest Chaplain:

Dear Kind and Gracious Heavenly Father, it is with praise and adoration we bow before You on this wonderful day. It is with awe and honor we worship Your holy presence and invite You to dwell in the midst of these men and women who were made by Your hands and fashioned for this very moment.

We acknowledge that all wisdom comes from You. We confess this morning that You are our eternal Father and You are the very essence of love itself, and that we are created in Your loving just and merciful image, and that Your ultimate will is that we love each other unconditionally as we are loved by You.

Please, Kind Sir, bless us this day with the spirit of reconciliation. Endow us with a fresh anointing of grace and tolerance. Empower us to deliberate through the dilemmas and conflicts of purpose and opinion. Equip us to accept what we cannot change. Embolden us to change the unacceptable and enlighten us with uncanny wisdom to strike the compromises that glorify You and dignify every human being.

Now, My Father, bless this House, O Lord we pray. Keep it safe by night and day. In the strong name of Jesus we trust and pray. Amen.

To learn more about Members who have sponsored a Guest Chaplain, please visit the Congressional Biographical Directory