On May 28, 2019, Alan Baughcum offered a prayer to open the proceedings of the Maine State House of Representatives.
Holy One,
On this morning following Memorial Day we are acutely aware of those blessed few who have given their lives to defend the freedoms secured by the constitutions, laws, and customs of our nation and our state. We remember with thanks their sacrifice on our behalf, and we give you thanks for the rule of law that protects us against the depredations of both anarchy and tyranny.
We thank you for the constitution and laws of this state that permit each of us to have a voice in the important issues that affect us, our posterity, and the beauties of your creation in this glorious Maine, once beautifully called Dawnland by its peoples.
We ask a special blessing on those who have been willing to devote their time and their talents to do the work of the people in this legislature. Grant them the ability to focus on what is important and to distinguish between the critical and the trivial.
Just as we are surrounded by a cloud of witnesses that includes the memories of those who fought and died to secure our liberties, so also does that cloud include others who cannot speak except through our consciences.
Grant that even the land, the water, the air, and the creatures with no voice and no power in the human institutions that affect them will be lovingly considered and cared for in this place.
Grant also that our posterity will be recognized as we consider the effects of our deliberations on not just the well-being of this generation but also on the prosperity and health of future generations as well.
O Lord, how you must laugh and perhaps even weep at the ways in which we let political differences and petty distinctions divide us. Today, we ask that you fill us with a vision of what your creation ought to look like: inclusive of all, loving, peaceful, and joyful.
Inspire us to ask whether the votes cast in this chamber will move us closer to the fulfillment of that vision. Grant us the will and the courage to set aside mere notions of political advancement and personal aggrandizement and make the achievement of the common good our only goal and objective. Unify us so that that the government and the people of the state of Maine will become a byword throughout these United States for civility, probity, sober judgment, wisdom, and lovingkindness.
AMEN.