Hillary Clinton, Harry Reid Refuse to Allow Chaplain Who Prays "in Jesus Name," but Welcome Hinduism to the Floor of the U.S. Senate
By Press Release: Wanda Sanchez (07/12/07)
WASHINGTON, July 12 /Christian Newswire/ -- A Hindu chaplain will pray a Hindu prayer on the floor of the U.S. Senate for the first time in history. But yesterday, staffers from the offices of Senator Clinton (D-NY) and Harry Reid (D-NV) both denied a request for equal access to a chaplain who prays "in Jesus name."
Former Navy Chaplain Gordon James Klingenschmitt personally visited the Washington offices of both Senators on July 10th, but was turned away.
"Yes, we sponsored today's Hindu chaplain from Nevada to pray Hindu prayers on the Senate floor," admitted Reid's staff, "but we won't sponsor you because you're from New York ," they told Chaplain Klingenschmitt.
Senator Clinton's office also turned away her own constituent. "We won't sponsor you to pray 'in Jesus name' on the floor of the Senate," her staff told Klingenschmitt, "because Senate Chaplain Barry Black is a Seventh-Day Adventist who regularly prays on the Senate floor... so we don't need a Pentecostal chaplain who prays in Jesus name. You can ask Chaplain Black if he'll sponsor you, but Senator Clinton won't."
Senate Chaplain Barry Black, who is a former Chief of Navy Chaplains, refused to help. "How did you get in here?" his staffer asked Klingenschmitt. When he pointed to the sign above Black's door that says "welcome, please come in," the staffer replied, "Chaplain Black knows who you are, and he likely won't talk to you, and his personal calendar is booked with appointments until 2009."
"Our national motto isn't 'in gods we trust.'" said Janet Folger, President of Faith2Action. "I believe U.S. Government-sanctioned Hindu prayers are an abomination," Folger added, "Unless you sing 'gods bless America...', use your Freedom of Speech to let your Senators know you are outraged by calling: 202- 224-3121."
Chaplain Klingenschmitt will be a guest on Janet Folger's Faith2Action nationally syndicated radio program on July 12th, which airs from 2-3:00 p.m. EST and on www.f2a.org .
To schedule an interview with Chaplain Klingenschmitt, 719-360-5132 cell, chaplaingate@yahoo.com for Janet Folger contact Wanda Sanchez, 209-534-9921, wanda@fullphasemedia.com . Klingenschmitt plans to watch the Hindu chaplain's prayer from the Senate gallery tomorrow, and will take interviews in the Capitol Rotunda immediately afterward.
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