Invocation delivered by Father Khader El-Yateem

Thank you.

We will now have today's invocation, which will be delivered by Father Khare Kalili of Grace Lutheran Church of Brooklyn, which is located at 939 3rd Street in Brooklyn.

Let us pray.

Almighty and merciful God, you created each of us in your image, the people in this chamber, the people watching from home,

and even those who will never hear our names, but whose lives are shaped by the decisions made here.

We thank you for this city.

We thank you for the people of the Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, and Staten Island.

We thank you for its crowded trains, its busy neighborhoods, its hardworking families, and its stubborn habit of making room for one more person.

In Jesus, you showed us what it means not to be served, but to serve.

Let that same spirit fill this room today.

Bless the members of this council and all who serve alongside them.

Give them wisdom when the answers are unclear, and courage when the right choice comes at a cost.

Help them listen to one another,

especially to those with whom they disagree, and leave them to see

not the good of a few, but the common good of all.

Through the prophet Micah, you have shown us what is good, to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with you.

Keep before the minds and hearts of this city, of this council, the family struggling to pay the rent.

The workers striving to make ends meet, the child who goes to school hungry, and the elder living alone.

Make them faithful stewards of the trust placed in them, and give peace in this nation, peace in our city, peace in our homes, and peace in our hearts.

Though we pray these things by different names, I offer this prayer in the name of Jesus Christ, trusting that we stand together in the hope of your mercy and goodness.

Amen.