A Prayer at the End of A Difficult Year: CO State House of Representatives

Our God and God of all Humanity:

God of the rich and God of the poor;

God of the young and God of the Old;

God of the haves and God of the have-nots

God who blesses us – even when we cannot see it:

We come together this morning in this sacred chamber to acknowledge a sense of urgency.  This legislative session has been like no other on record.  It will soon be over.  In two weeks, the messy business of crafting, fine tuning and negotiating the laws that will govern our state will come to an end and these legislators will return home to take advantage of some well-deserved rest.

Tensions run high when deadlines loom.  Passions are inflamed – here in this place and outside these walls.

In the heat of debate words have been said, aspersions have been cast and alliances have been both forged and broken.

And yet, despite differences that pit men and women on either side of the political divide, the awareness that what happens in this building is unique and unlike any other endeavor in our great State of Colorado cannot help but forge a bond between the legislators, clerks, bailiffs, lobbyists, aides and all the men and women who labor to ensure that the tasks for which our representatives are elected are completed in accordance with our State Constitution. I’ve seen it – so have you.

That all of us have been privileged to participate in this process links us together in a process that surpasses politics and punditry and forces us to see one another through the unique lenses of shared experience.

Our faith traditions all teach that we are created in the image of a beneficent Creator with whom we partner as we go about our lives.

In these last waning days of debate, let us look at one another cognizant of the holiness implanted within our souls.  Help us, O God to also see the faces of the Men, Women and Children in our communities who will be affected by the outcomes of the deliberations within these walls.

And when we return home – let us do so with a feeling that every argument and disagreement that occurred was for the sake of heaven.  Then and only then will we be worthy of the great responsibilities bestowed upon us.

AMEN