Doctor Ivan Raley
First Baptist Church
Brydstown, TN
Sponsor: Rep. Rep. Lincoln Davis, (D-TN)
Date of Prayer: 04/28/2005
One Minute Speech Given in Recognition of the Guest Chaplain:
Mr. DAVIS of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in proud recognition of Dr. Ivan Raley. Dr. Raley is a native Tennessean who has selflessly served the people and the State of Tennessee as a pastor for the last 30 years. My local church, the First Baptist Church in Byrdstown, has been blessed as the home of Dr. Raley for the last 3 years, and today, following in the tradition established by Benjamin Franklin and our Founding Fathers, Dr. Raley delivered the opening prayer to the United States House of Representatives.
In addition to serving as pastor of my local church, Ivan Raley works as regional vice president of the Tennessee Baptist Children's Home, Inc. The Tennessee Baptist Children's Home was founded in Nashville, Tennessee, in 1891 to provide residential care to orphaned, neglected, abandoned and abused children while helping them become whole persons in the name of the Lord.
In my opinion, Dr. Raley is a rare individual who truly believes in serving his fellow man. By tirelessly spreading the message of faith, hope and caring for others, Dr. Raley has been able to help thousands of Tennesseans seek comfort in the Lord's arms. Dr. Raley understands that words like morals, values and faith are not just punch words that should be used shallowly for personal gain, but rather, they should be the foundation and driving force of every human life.
Dr. Raley knows that love lives in the heart of every individual, whether they be friend or stranger, and that when we know and accept this love, we will understand the blessing of life that God has given us.
I thank Dr. Raley for all he as done for me and my family and all he continues to do for the orphaned children in Tennessee.
Opening Prayer Given by the Guest Chaplain:
Our heavenly Father, as we gather in this historic and honored hall, with these whom You have chosen and our Nation has elected to serve in their place here in this special city, we come, Lord, humbly and devotedly before You.
Father, we are reminded in Your Word where a man who had been sick for 38 years met Your Son, Jesus, and when He met him and was asked if he would be made whole, he said he had no one.
Father, I believe that across this great Nation of ours there are tens of thousands of people who are looking to the men and women of this great hall and this great body and are saying, as clearly as the layman 2000 years ago, we need someone.
Father, touch each of these who have been elected, ordain them as Your servants and use them gloriously this day. May their voice be Yours. May their decisions be Yours.
Father, God bless this body. God bless America.
In Your holy name. Amen.
To learn more about Members who have sponsored a Guest Chaplain, please visit the Congressional Biographical Directory