The [Guest Chaplain] Rabbi Amy Rader, B'nai Torah Congregation, Boca Raton, Florida, offered the following prayer:

     When the theologian of my tradition, Dr. Abraham Joshua Heschel, marched in Selma, Alabama, with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Rabbi Heschel said: ``My feet were praying.''

     Esteemed men and women in this Chamber, I ask for God's help to move our prayers from our lips to our feet. Our world is in desperate need of action, change, and presence. As the leaders of this sacred democracy, your feet in any one place can make the difference between life and death.

     May it be God's will that your feet lead our country on the path of compassion and justice. May your feet walk steadily to draw the estranged closer and the vulnerable into protection. May your feet stand firmly and united as the agents of freedom, equality, progress, and hope.

     Master of the universe, inspire our deeds to be their own prayers. May our work join with God's spirit to bring about a better day for all creation.

     Amen.