Prayer Offered for June 1, 2026
Upon invitation of the President, the following prayer was offered by Chaplain Sharondalyn Y. DuPree, EdS, MDiv:
Creator God, Source of Life and Wisdom, we receive June’s arrival: Daylight stretching, fields of flowers turning toward the sun, communities gathering in celebration, with June marking pride, remembrance, and hope.
Poet Audre Lorde wrote, “It is not our differences that divide us. It is our inability to recognize, accept, and celebrate those differences.”
May her insight accompany us today.
May we recognize that as every person we serve carries a story we do not fully know.
May we remember that disagreement need not diminish dignity or beauty.
May we find the courage to approach what we learn from one another.
May we choose curiosity.
Where there is fragmentation, may we become the waymakers of community.
May this chamber in this new season be guided not only by what is politically possible, but by what is worthy of the people whose lives are touched by its work.
And may we leave this day, this time, and this season transformed willingly.
Enter June into our hearts.
Shalom, May it be so, and Amen.
