Reverend Dr. John Putka
Department of Political Science
University of Dayton, OH
Sponsor: Rep. Hon. Bob Schaffer, (R-CO)
Date of Prayer: 10/08/2002
One Minute Speech Given in Recognition of the Guest Chaplain:
(Mr. SCHAFFER asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
Mr. SCHAFFER. Mr. Speaker, it is my privilege and honor to welcome and introduce to the House of Representatives our guest chaplain this morning, Father John Putka .
I have known Father Putka for quite a long time. He was a teacher of mine when I was a high school student at Moeller High School in Cincinnati. He also was a professor at the University of Dayton school I also attended. He has also been in the classrooms of St. Joseph in Cleveland, Chaminade in Mineola, and many other schools around the country.
Father Putka's Ministry has taken him far and wide. Not only has he preached throughout the State of Ohio and surrounding States, but his ministry also takes him to my State of Colorado at least once a year, also to the State of Wyoming. He is well–known and respected by a great number of people, but, more than that, he has inspired those who have had an opportunity to sit and observe and participate in the masses that he has led and listened to his homilies.
As a professor of political science at the University of Dayton, Father Putka is one who has trained his students to consider their role in the world through the broad context of a properly trained conscience. He is joined at the University of Dayton by Dr. Jason Pierce and others who work on a day–by–day basis to try to deliver the best education possible to the students before them. Father Putka is one who is trained and preaches in the Marianist tradition.
Again, he is one who I have known for quite a long time; and let me just finish by saying that, for me personally, this is really a blessing for him to be here today. It was 6 years ago that I was sworn into Congress. Father Putka was here to wish one of his former students, me, well as I was sworn in. And as I enter the last few weeks of my congressional service here in Washington, it is very nice that he is here today to be a part of this important day in congressional history.
Opening Prayer Given by the Guest Chaplain:
Eternal God and Father of us all, we stand in Your presence and lift our minds and hearts in prayer.
As we gather in this place of ongoing history, we pray for the Members of this House, chosen by our fellow citizens to represent us in the governance of our Nation. We ask You to bless them and all who assist them, so that Your laws may be reflected in our laws, and Your ways may become our ways.
We ask, in the words of the prophet Isaiah, that You send Your spirit upon them, a spirit of wisdom and understanding, a spirit of counsel and of strength, a spirit of knowledge and fear of the Lord. We make this prayer in Your most holy name. Amen.
To learn more about Members who have sponsored a Guest Chaplain, please visit the Congressional Biographical Directory