WASHINGTON — When the House of Representatives convened at the Capitol on Friday, the opening prayer was delivered not by the House chaplain but by a Spokane pastor who prayed for national healing in a divisive time for the United States.
Pastor John Repsold of Mosaic Fellowship, a nondenominational church in Spokane, traveled to the nation’s capital at the invitation of Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, a Republican who represents Eastern Washington and who is also a member of his congregation. After Speaker Mike Johnson gaveled the chamber to order, the several Democratic and Republican lawmakers in the chamber bowed their heads.
“O Sovereign Lord God, we desperately need you today,” Repsold said. “Our divided nation needs you. Please give us eyes to see your wisdom, give us ears to hear your voice and hearts that love to obey your truth. Show us how to build a nation that respects you and your laws above all, that loves across our vast differences and gives life to all.”
On most days when the lower chamber is in session, House Chaplain Margaret Grun Kibben offers an opening prayer before the Pledge of Allegiance and the beginning of legislative business. But lawmakers can recommend religious leaders from the communities they represent to serve as guest chaplains. In June, Rep. Dan Newhouse of Sunnyside invited Bhai Mohan Singh, a Sikh leader from Gurdwara Singh Sabha in Yakima, to offer the opening prayer.
While Repsold delivered the prayer, McMorris Rodgers sat next to his granddaughters Christianna Hyatt, 11; Kalyra Hyatt, 9; and Lindy Repsold, 6. Afterward, the congresswoman — who is retiring at year’s end after two decades in Congress — rose to acknowledge the pastor and his family.
“His love for our community is contagious, and he’s highly regarded and respected, and I’m just grateful that this worked out today,” McMorris Rodgers said in a brief interview. “It’s important because — in the midst of all the confusion, division — we should always be able to unite in prayer.”
Sandy Repsold, the pastor’s wife, came to the Capitol for the occasion along with their children Joanna Hyatt, Mikias Repsold and Daniel Repsold; daughter-in-law Stacie Repsold; and their three granddaughters, plus 7-month-old grandson Joseph Repsold.
“We were joking, because I worked with the congressman to do this, that I won Father’s Day,” Joanna Hyatt said. “And it was really special to get to see this. My dad, who has such a heart for our country and also has been in ministry for so long, to sort of see this be like the culmination of those two loves.”
John Repsold, who grew up in Spokane and has been a pastor there for 31 years, said the opportunity to deliver the opening prayer was “sobering” and “a great honor” that “brings home the challenge that our country has to work this experiment of government together.”
“I think the role of any minister of the gospel is to help people to come into the presence of God and realize that we’re all on the same plane, we’re all on the same ground and we’re all sinners who need help,” he said in an interview. “So I think prayer can be a very uniting experience for the whole country.”
