[ad_1]
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
Every time there’s a government shutdown, I turn to an unconventional barometer to understand the depth of the impasse.
I always observe the first few moments of the Senate session.
Logical, right?
GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN KNOWLEDGE: GAMING OUT ITS POTENTIAL END
Any congressional reporter worth their salt would surely want to hear the musings of the Senate majority and minority leaders on the floor to digest where things stand with the shutdown.
But I tune in to hear someone who has their palm on the pulse of the Senate. They might not rank as high as Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., or Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. But they have a direct line to someone who outranks everyone.
I listen to the Senate’s opening prayer from Senate Chaplain Barry Black.
“On this third day of the government shutdown, inspire them to work for your glory in all they think, say and do,” Black prayed as he opened the Senate Oct. 3. “Equip our senators for their task.”
Senate Chaplain Barry Black’s prayers are an excellent finger on the pulse of progress made during government shutdowns. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Black is a parliamentary pastor offering ecumenical intercessions in search of a shutdown solution.
The shutdown impasse deepened since Black’s initial invocation more than three weeks ago. But after days of political posturing and inaction by the Congressional laity, Black unloaded on his Senate flock Monday.
“When our children and grandchildren want to know what we were doing in the 119th Congress during the famous shutdown, may we not have to give these answers: ‘I helped set a new record for keeping the government closed. I failed to appeal to the better angels of my nature. I forgot Matthew 7:12, which states, do to others whatever you would like them to do to you,’” Black prayed.
“Lord, remind our lawmakers that no gold medals are given for breaking shutdown records. But a crown of…
[ad_2]
