If you've been attending church long enough, you probably have a horror story about how a pastor is treated by their church, or vice versa. A church fires a pastor without any prior warnings or evaluations. A pastor embezzles church mission funds.
Today, news dropped of a new horror story: the chaplain of the House of Representatives being sacked by the Speaker of the House for praying in an invocation for the nation's poor--and, according to sources, also for inviting a Muslim cleric to offer the invocation one day.
That's, as they say in the parlance, a doozy.
Already, Congress is shaping up to be the search committee from hell, with Representative Mark Walker saying that the next chaplain must have a family, which, in addition to obviously excluding nearly all Roman Catholic clergy, would also exclude qualified Protestant clergy who have not (or have not yet) raised children of their own.
But, at the same time, serving as chaplain to the House of Representatives is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and, as it so happens, I am between jobs at the moment. So I am throwing my hat in the ring.
Pasted below is the cover letter I sent to Speaker Ryan through his website. One of my colleagues and friends, Rev. Nancy Gowler, the pastor of the Disciples of Christ church in Puyallup, came up with the absolutely brilliant idea for as many progressive clergy (including rabbis, imams, etc.) to send Speaker Ryan their resumes along with a sample invocation, so as to flood his inbox with prayers for the poor.
I have already done so. Clergy colleagues, will you also let Speaker Ryan know that you are ready and available to pray before Congress on behalf of the poor? Laity friends, would your pastor be interested in such a life-changing opportunity? Pass this on to them! Jesus preached to the multitudes; now, may the multitudes preach to a publicly pious follower of Jesus who has chosen to ignore this crucial teaching of God.
For if the Speaker of the House of Representatives will not hear God's love for the poor told by his own chaplain, may he hear it told by the pastors, priests, rabbis, imams, and other clergy among the citizenry that he ostensibly serves.
Dear Mr. Speaker,
While I was disappointed to hear that you had forced the resignation of Father Patrick Conroy as the 60th chaplain to the House of Representatives, I recognize that this also represents a potential vocational opportunity for me.
You see, I believe very strongly in what liberation theology calls God's preferential option for the poor, and I have seldom seen a person in more need of hearing that Gospel message than you, sir, and many of your Congressional colleagues.
As it so happens, I am between full-time employment, as I concluded my previous parish ministry earlier this month and have not yet entered my denomination's official search and call process for another post.
I also understand that some of your colleagues want a pastor who has a family. While I think I understand their concern, I hope the fact that I have been happily married for roughly four years alleviates that concern. I also wish to convey to you that their expression of such a concern would make many candidates before a more typical search committee decide that this was not a healthy work environment.
But I believe that the chance to minister to the House of Representatives is a once in a lifetime opportunity, and so I would therefore welcome the chance for you to peruse this sample invocation (pasted below) that you may regard as a representative example of the sorts of prayer I would give before this esteemed body, should I be blessed with the opportunity to do so. My resume and references are available upon request.
I look forward to hearing from you and wish you well as you conclude your Congressional career, Mr. Speaker.
In God's Grace,
Rev. Eric Atcheson
Sample invocation:
Eternal and life-giving God, we ask your holy presence upon the body here assembled today, that as a body they would reflect the Body of Christ in all respects: in love and compassion, in thoughtfulness and wisdom, in diversity and inclusion, and in its regard for the poor among us who have long been put at extreme disadvantages by our nation's exploitative economy.
God, we ask that you grant this assembly a heart for our nation's and world's poorest, that we might do what is right by them not simply in word or lip service, but in deed and law, even if it come at the expense of some of our own hoarded wealth. For we know that as Jesus famously taught in the Gospels, we cannot serve both You and wealth.
Give us the courage, God, to dismantle our ways in which we oppress, hold back, and take advantage of our poor neighbors and fellow soul-vessels. Help us to rebuke in truth the donors who angrily demand that we serve their interests at the expense of the interests of the impoverished and the oppressed. Help us to be brave enough to confess in honesty to where we have not done right by those who lack our resources and institutional privilege. And help us to do what is right, not what is merely easy, expedient, or convenient.
We ask much of you, God, but we know that you are capable of much as well. So we ask you to grant us the fortitude to do what you have taught us is right--to love others as ourselves, and to avoid doing that which is hurtful to them.
We pray these things to you, God, in our many languages, denominations, and faith traditions. Amen.