On the recordDecember 8, 2010
I welcome Christilene Whalen, a member of the United States Navy Chaplain Corps. She led us in prayer today. She serves at the Naval Air Station in Patuxent River in Maryland, where she ministers to sailors, military families, and, I might add, the greater community in which I have the privilege of living. She is a native of the county in which I live, St. Mary's County. She went to school at Great Mills High School and went to study at Harvard Divinity School. After serving in the ministry for two decades, she joined the Navy as a chaplain 2 years ago. Today, she is proud to serve so closely to the community where she grew up. We thank her, as Members of the House of Representatives, not only for gracing us today with our opening prayer, but also for her service to her country and to her community. We thank her for the guidance she provides to our men and women in uniform. And we thank her for her words of inspiration to the House today. Lieutenant, we appreciate your being with us.
