Orrin Hatch: “last Friday marked the official last day of duty for our Senate Chaplain, the Reverend Richard C. Halverson. I want to…”

“last Friday marked the official last day of duty for our Senate Chaplain, the Reverend Richard C. Halverson. I want to take just a moment to pay tribute to his service to the Senate as an institution and a word of thanks for his ministry to Senators as individuals. Dr. Halverson came to us in 1981 after an already distinguished pastorate at Bethesda's Fourth Presbyterian Church. There, as here, he tried to build a strong community--a community that supported each other and strengthened each other's faith. Dr. Halverson was not a spiritual leader as much as he was a spiritual coalition builder. He knew that the needs of Senators were so unique that any chaplain had to do more than pray for us once a day. He knew that cultivating faith and goodwill required more than the skills of a single professional clergyman. That Reverend Halverson led us to appreciate and seek out the spiritual strengths in each other was perhaps his greatest achievement as chaplain. To those who view the Senate on C-SPAN or even from the inside vantage point of the press galleries, the office of Senate Chaplain may appear to be superfluous. But, Dr. Halverson's gentle outreach to all Senators--of both parties and of all religious denominations--made the chaplaincy a living example of exactly the kind of men and women we all strive to be: kind, forgiving, honorable, and joyful.”