I was honored to be asked again to give the opening prayer on the first day of the session.

 

To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven.

A time to mourn, and a time to dance.

When we last met on sine die, we mourned the loss of our Speaker.

As we convene today, we celebrate an historic beginning for our Speaker.

Since we last met, we have also lost a former member of our House, Elijah Cummings.

By his example and his words, Elijah could change hearts and minds, and most importantly in this chamber, he could change votes.

“Walk with me,” he would intone.  His district would become our district.  His city our city.

“A lot of people call me a bridge builder, but sometimes I feel like I’m the bridge itself,” he said shortly after his election to Congress. “I often become the bridge, so people can begin to concentrate on what they have in common as opposed to what differences they have.”

John Lewis made history when he sought to cross a bridge – the Edmund Pettus Bridge on Bloody Sunday, but suffered a fractured skull instead.

His courage and commitment brought about the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

Protecting the right to vote is still his cause.  May it remain so for years to come.

A time to mourn, and a time to dance.

A time to plant ideas and bills; and a time to uproot that which is planted.