The Office of the Chaplain United States House of Representatives

Photograph of The Reverend Patrick J. ConroyTo serve as Chaplain for the U.S. House of Representatives is truly an honor and a privilege. To be both a minister of the Lord and an officer serving the United States government responds to a twofold call to serve others and offer prayer that unites Heaven and Earth.

With 435 Members in the House and their staffs, plus all the other wonderful people who serve here with committee work or in the Chamber, including teenage Pages, my pastoral duties are many and varied. My goal is to meet the needs of this working community on a personal level. The problems that weigh on hearts and the confusion that at times blocks clarity of thinking become my concerns.

The formal prayer before each legislative session of Congress, and even before days of pro forma sessions, casts a light on the day that awakens faith and calls forth a nation to stand with its leaders and affirm: “In God We Trust.” But daily prayer for the Members of the House cannot end there.

I ask people across this great country to join me in praying for the Members of the House of Representatives. Know the Member of your congressional district by name and raise his or her name before God each day with us here in the nation’s capital.

Pray for me, also, that I may be always rooted in prayer and a good instrument for accomplishing God’s holy will here. Only by being free in the Spirit can I serve all the people here, regardless of their faith persuasion or denomination. Only by listening attentively to each person can I offer good counsel, encouragement, and gentle correction.

Thank you for your interest in and support of the Members of the House.

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Opening Prayer

11/22/2024
Reverend Lisa Wink Schultz

Eternal God, the giver of every good and perfect gift, we thank You for autumn in Washington, D.C. We are grateful for the bright yellow leaves and the refreshing cool weather. Open our eyes to the beauty You have created. Thank You for the balance of labor and rest, workday and Sabbath. May this Thanksgiving holiday give all who work here much–needed rest.
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Help us remember that all who are weary and heavy–laden can come to You and find rest for their souls. Your yoke is easy and Your burden is light. As seasons change, we are comforted by the truth that You are the unchangeable one.
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We pray in Your mighty name. �Amen.

Thought of the Week

On that day let our ordinary work and business be suspended and let us meet in our accustomed places of worship and give thanks to Almighty God for our preservation as a nation, for our immunity from disease and pestilence, for the harvests that have rewarded our husbandry, for a renewal of national prosperity, and for every advance in virtue and intelligence that has marked our growth as a people.

—President Grover Cleveland

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