[Page H2210]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                                 PRAYER

  The Chaplain, the Reverend Margaret Grun Kibben, offered the 
following prayer:
  Lord, You have been our dwelling place throughout all generations. 
Before the mountains were born or the world was brought forth, from 
everlasting to everlasting, You are God.
  In light of Your eternity, we apprehend all too quickly our finitude. 
We realize how quickly our days pass, even more so when one of our own 
friends or loved ones come rapidly to the end of the life You have 
given them.
  Such is this day for us as we grieve our friend and colleague, 
Representative Gerry Connolly, for his was a life that kept on giving. 
With his unquenchable passion, his unfading whimsical spirit, Gerry 
Connolly exuded a sense of perpetual persistence to get things done.
  Thank You for his unwavering testimony of justice and mercy, equity 
and compassion. May his legacy of geniality and gentle gibing spark in 
us the desire to pay forward his lust for life and his love for Your 
people.
  While we may miss the green ties, the Boston brogue, his blarney, and 
his bluster, we know that his family and friends will want for that 
much more. Give them comfort in their sorrow and solace in Your 
steadfast and abiding love in their grief.
  Teach us all to number our days. But even as the grass withers and 
the flowers fade, may we find strength knowing that the word of the 
Lord endures forever.
  In Your eternal name, we offer our prayers this day.
  Amen.

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