Obama Begins Day With National Prayer ServiceBy Michelle Boorstein, Debbi Wilgoren and Jacqueline L. Salmon
Washington Post Staff Writers
Wednesday, January 21, 2009; 11:32 AM
On his first full day in office, President Obama spent part of the morning at the Washington National Cathedral, placing his own stamp on the traditional National Prayer Service with a larger-than-usual group of interfaith religious leaders participating and newly written prayers meant to emphasize liberty and diversity.
The invitation-only service, which has followed presidential inaugurals in the United States on and off since George Washington's swearing-in, started just after 10 a.m. and continued for nearly an hour and a half.
Obama and first lady Michelle Obama, who wore a bold black-and-silver patterned dress, walked into the stately church with Vice President Biden and his wife, Jill Biden. They took seats in the front row alongside Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.), Obama's nominee for secretary of state, and her husband, former president Bill Clinton.
So many members of Congress were scheduled to attend the service that a markup session scheduled for attorney general nominee Eric H. Holder Jr. was postponed.
The list of 20 clergy participating in the service included Rev. Samuel Lloyd, dean of the cathedral, which is the seat of the Episcopal Church in Washington; Rev. Otis Moss Jr., a prominent Baptist pastor whose son is pastor of Trinity United Church of Christ, Obama's former church; Washington Catholic Archbishop Donald Wuerl; Rev. Jim Wallis of the progressive group Sojourners; and several well-known Jewish, Muslim and Greek Orthodox leaders.
The District-based Children of the Gospel Choir entertained the assembled dignitaries and guests by singing "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands."
The sermon was delivered by Rev. Sharon Watkins, president of the Protestant denomination Disciples of Christ in North America and the first woman to have such a prominent role in the post-inaugural prayer service.
Watkins quoted a wide range of religious leaders and traditions, from Gandhi to Islam to Cherokee Indians, urging the new president to remain focused on ethical and religious values such as common good, justice and compassion.
"In times such as these, we the people need you, the leaders of the nation, to be guided by the counsel that Isaiah gave so long ago," she said. "This is the Biblical way. It is also the American way."
She told Obama, "With your swearing-in, Mr. President, the flame of America's promise burns just a little brighter for every child in this land." There is much work to do, and some of it will "tend to draw you away from your ethical center," she said.
"But we need you to hold the ground of your deepest values, of our deepest values," Watkins said. "We need you to stay focused on our shared hopes, so that we can continue to hope, too. We will follow your lead."
Moss, offering a prayer in his rich baritone, asked God to "teach us each day that we live in a nation of neighbors on an island commissioned to glorify your name, in a community that is global. We have been taught through your servant that we are all connected, impacted by what we do and what we refuse to do."
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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/story/2009/01/21/ST2009012101096.html