Zach Nunn: “echoing the remarks of my friend from New Mexico, I think it would truly be a unique hour in the history of the Senate…”

“echoing the remarks of my friend from New Mexico, I think it would truly be a unique hour in the history of the Senate if we could let the policemen and the maids and the janitors come up for an hour and talk about Dick Halverson. None of us could express what this whole family of the Senate would say about this wonderful man who is a devoted follower of Jesus and who lives that example every day, more so than any person I have ever observed in my life; and whose religion is not only through the spoken word, but most of all through example. Benjamin Franklin, who first suggested that sessions of the then- Continental Congress be opened with prayer, once said that true human happiness is produced not so much by great pieces of good fortune that seldom happen, as by little advantages that occur every day. The Members of the Senate have enjoyed such daily advantages--I would not really call them small--having been blessed over the past 14 years by the thoughtful opening prayers of the Chaplain of the Senate, Dr. Richard Halverson. In all that time, Dr. Halverson has been a real pastor to the Senate as a whole, sharing our long sessions, agonizing with us at times of difficult decisions, and helping us wrestle with the great moral concerns of our Nation.”