Washington, DC – Last week, Congressman Adam Kinzinger (IL-16) welcomed Pastor Paul C. Meyers of Roscoe United Methodist Church to the United States Capitol to serve as the Guest Chaplain of the U.S. House of Representatives for Thursday, March 22, 2018.

Members of Congress can sponsor a ‘Guest Chaplain’ on behalf of a pastoral leader from the district they represent by submitting a recommendation to the Office of the Chaplain. Continuing the tradition as established by the Continental Congress, the Chaplain opens each legislative day with a prayer, ahead of the parliamentary proceedings.

After the Speaker called the House into session, Pastor Meyer’s gave his opening prayer. Following this and the Pledge of Allegiance, Congressman Kinzinger gave a one-minute speech to welcome his constituent to the People’s House. 

The Congressman’s speech can be found on his YouTube page, and his remarks as written can be found transcribed below:

“Mr. Speaker, I’m proud to welcome Pastor Paul C. Meyers as our Guest Chaplain this morning, and greatly appreciate him leading us in prayer on this historic Thursday.

“Pastor Meyers is from the 16th Congressional District of Illinois, which I proudly represent, and serves as the Senior Chaplain at the United Methodist Church in Roscoe, Illinois. 

“Serving in ministry since 1992, Pastor Meyers has been a stalwart faithful figure in our community. He serves as Chaplain for the Fire/EMS/Law Enforcement, 19 years and counting, and is currently the Head Chaplain for the Harlem/Roscoe Fire Department and the Roscoe Police Department. He also serves as a Chaplain with the FBI and will be Resident Chaplain at the FBI Academy at Quantico this month.

“Thank you to Pastor Meyers, and his family, especially his wife Kendra who is with us today, for all they do to serve our community. We are humbly grateful for this dedication to serving the Lord and providing us with strong spiritual guidance.”


NOTE: More photos from the day can be found on the Congressman's Facebook page.