The Office of the Chaplain United States House of Representatives

Reverend Mark A. Teslik

Immanuel Lutheran Church
East Moline, IL

Sponsor: Rep. Donald Manzullo, (R-IL)
Date of Prayer: 06/28/2000

One Minute Speech Given in Recognition of the Guest Chaplain:

Mr. MANZULLO. Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure that the House has had its invocation given by the Reverend Mark Teslik of Rockford, Illinois. He is here with his wife, Annette, and son Tom, who are in the gallery just in front of me.

Mark was an Eagle Scout. He was an outstanding ROTC Cadet in Jefferson High School in Rockford, Illinois. He is a Ripon College 1976 graduate, with additional studies at Northern Illinois University in Dekalb.

Mark served with the Third Armor in Germany and was a Second Lieutenant in the Signal Corps. He is a graduate of the Airborne School in Fort Benning, Georgia. He is a graduate of Lutheran Northwestern Theological Seminary in St. Paul.

Mark underwent clinical pastoral training with residency at Alexian Brothers Medical Center in Elk Grove Village, Illinois, and was ordained in 1984.

Mr. Speaker, he is the pastor of Immanuel Lutheran Church in East Moline, Illinois, and chairman of the World Hunger Appeal Committee of the Northern Illinois Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America.

Mr. Speaker, we are honored today to have in our presence the Reverend Mark Teslik and we have been honored with his prayer for our country.

Opening Prayer Given by the Guest Chaplain:

Almighty God, Creator and Ruler of the universe, accept our praise and thanks for Your help in times past in our individual and corporate lives.

Remind us that Your power is chiefly shown through acts of love and mercy in the day–to–day context of our present lives.

Direct and empower us, Mighty God, to be part of a present so marked by acts of love and mercy that the future of this country and the world might be shaped by Your love.

Bless the Members and staff of this House, their families, and all who visit here today with Your love and presence.

Amen.

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