Doctor Barry C. Black
U.S. Senate
Washington, DC
Date of Prayer: 06/20/2023
One Minute Speech Given in Recognition of the Guest Chaplain:
One Minute Address
Opening Prayer Given by the Guest Chaplain:
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.
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