Mello, the pastor at Lakeland’s Church of the Resurrection, is scheduled to offer the opening prayer at Wednesday’s session of the U.S. House of Representatives in Washington, D.C.
Mello said the House chaplain’s guidelines limit him to a 150-word prayer. He said his prayer will have “no political overtones at all,” though he will pray for members of the House to be cooperative.
“That’s a little part of the prayer, absolutely,” he said. “There are a lot of problems we need to solve in this country, and the American wisdom is when both parties came together with good solutions.”
The session is scheduled to open at noon and will be televised on C-SPAN.
Mello, 52, is appearing in the House chamber at the invitation of Rep. Dennis Ross (R-Lakeland). The House chaplain’s guest chaplain program allows members of the elected body to recommend clergy from their districts to offer the prayer that opens each House session.
Mello said Ross’ late father, Bill Ross, was a member of the congregation at Church of the Resurrection, where he has served since 1998. He said Ross is a member of another local congregation but has attended Church of the Resurrection on occasion...(read more)
