Reverend Dr. Anthony L. Bennett
Mount Aery Baptist Church
Bridgeport, CT
Sponsor: Rep. Jim Himes, (D-CT)
Date of Prayer: 07/09/2009
One Minute Speech Given in Recognition of the Guest Chaplain:
Mr. HIMES. Mr. Speaker, it is an honor for me to introduce today to the Congress of the United States, Pastor Anthony L. Bennett of the Mount Aery Baptist Church in Bridgeport, Connecticut.
Pastor Bennett is accompanied today by his wife, First Lady Bennett , and their young and energetic son, Ahmad.
The Mount Aery Baptist Church draws its name from the biblical Mount Ararat where Noah's ark is believed to have come to rest after the cataclysmic floods. This is an apt metaphor because Mount Aery is a beacon, a refuge, a house of good works in a very troubled city, one of the poorest in Connecticut, in fact, one of the poorest in the Nation.
But under Pastor Bennett's leadership, the Mount Aery Church has sponsored ministries for children, for teenagers, for those at risk of dependency or recovering from dependency. He has fostered educational outreach programs that have made a difference in a very, very troubled location.
One of the most personally moving things I have experienced in the last several years was when the Mount Aery Baptist Church raised up recent high school graduates of the city of Bridgeport at a time and in a place where half of the city's high school students do not graduate from high school.
Pastor Bennett is a leader, a minister, and a pastor; and I can't help but thinking this morning that if all of us strove to match his example, we would be a better country, indeed.
Opening Prayer Given by the Guest Chaplain:
Namaste.
Let us pray.
Good Morning God, our Creator, Provider and Sustainer. It is to you, our refuge, strength, the one God who is known by many names. To you God, we give thanks for this day; a day in which we have another chance to manifest your divine essence upon the earth. You have given us another opportunity to demonstrate your love for us in how we treat one another.
And so, on today, I lift the members and staff of this, the United States House of Representatives. I pray your wisdom and guidance will consume them so that they understand the individuals, families and, yes, even the nations that will be impacted by their decisions today. So teach them and all of us to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with our God.
In the name of Jesus, I pray. Amen.
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