Since 1937, the United States presidential inauguration has included one or more prayers given by members of the clergy. [1] [2] Since 1933 an associated prayer service either public or private attended by the president-elect has often taken place on the morning of the day. [3] At times a major public or broadcast prayer service takes place after the main ceremony most recently on the next day. [4]
[2] January 20, 1937 inaugural of Franklin D. Roosevelt
January 20, 1941 inaugural of Franklin D. Roosevelt
January 20, 1945 inaugural of Franklin D. Roosevelt
January 20, 1949 inaugural of Harry S. Truman
January 20, 1953 inaugural of Dwight D. Eisenhower
January 21, 1957 inaugural of Dwight D. Eisenhower
January 20, 1961 inaugural of John F. Kennedy
January 20, 1965 inaugural of Lyndon B. Johnson
January 20, 1969 inaugural of Richard Nixon
January 20, 1973 inaugural of Richard M. Nixon
January 20, 1977 inaugural of Jimmy Carter
January 20, 1981 inaugural of Ronald Reagan
January 21, 1985 inaugural of Ronald Reagan
January 20, 1989 inaugural of George H. W. Bush
January 20, 1993 inaugural of Bill Clinton
January 20, 1997 inaugural of Bill Clinton
January 20, 2001 inaugural of George W. Bush
January 20, 2005 inaugural of George W. Bush
January 20, 2009 inaugural of Barack Obama
January 21, 2013 inaugural of Barack Obama
January 20, 2017 inauguration of Donald Trump
January 20, 2021 inauguration of Joseph R. Biden Jr.
Presidents since 1933 have often worshipped privately before the actual ceremony.
[4] In 1789 George Washington along with Congress attended a service at St. Paul's Chapel in New York City after his swearing in. The ceremony was presided over by Bishop Samuel Provoost. No similar service is known until 1933.
Sunday, March 5, 1933 "National Inaugural Prayer Service" at Washington National Cathedral. Presided over by Episcopal Bishop James Edward Freeman of Washington.
Thursday, January 20, 1977 James Carter had a half-hour interfaith prayer service at the Lincoln Memorial in the morning (8am) before the main ceremony; he did not attend. [16] [20] [21] Speakers included
1981 Ronald Reagan had a service at National City Christian Church on Thomas Circle, Washington, D.C., but he did not attend.
Sunday, January 20, 1985 Ronald Reagan had a public service at the Washington National Cathedral. Speakers included
Sunday, January 22, 1989 George H. W. Bush attended a Presidential Inaugural Prayer Service at the Washington National Cathedral the day after his swearing in. [22]
Sermons were given by
Other participants included
Sunday, January 21, 2001 – George W. Bush had a prayer service at the National Cathedral. [23]
Friday, January 21, 2005 – George W. Bush had a service at the National Cathedral the day after the inauguration. [24] Speakers included: [25]
Wednesday, January 21, 2009 – Barack Obama had a service at 10am in the National Cathedral.
Scripture readings by
Responsive prayers by
Tuesday, January 22, 2013 – An interfaith National Prayer Service at 10:30 am in the National Cathedral was attended by President Obama, Vice President Biden and their spouses.
Saturday, January 21, 2017 – An interfaith National Prayer Service in Washington National Cathedral was attended by President Trump, Vice President Pence and their spouses. [26]
Thursday, January 21, 2021 – Virtual Presidential Inaugural Prayer Service hosted by Washington National Cathedral at 10 a.m. [27]
The Rev. Dr. William J. Barber, II co-chair, Poor People's Campaign, preached. Other participants included:
The Reverend is an honorific style given before the names of certain Christian clergy and ministers. There are sometimes differences in the way the style is used in different countries and church traditions. The Reverend is correctly called a style, but is sometimes referred to as a title, form of address, or title of respect. The style is also sometimes used by leaders in other religions such as Judaism and Buddhism.
The Cathedral Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul in the City and Diocese of Washington, commonly known as Washington National Cathedral or National Cathedral, is an American cathedral of the Episcopal Church. The cathedral is located in Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States. The structure is of Neo-Gothic design closely modeled on English Gothic style of the late fourteenth century. It is the second-largest church building in the United States, and the third-tallest building in Washington, D.C. The cathedral is the seat of both the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church, Michael Bruce Curry, and the bishop of the Diocese of Washington, Mariann Edgar Budde. Over 270,000 people visit the structure annually.
Patrick Joseph Hayes was an American Catholic prelate who served as Archbishop of New York from 1919 until his death. He was elevated to the cardinalate in 1924.
A benediction is a short invocation for divine help, blessing and guidance, usually at the end of worship service. It can also refer to a specific Christian religious service including the exposition of the eucharistic host in the monstrance and the blessing of the people with it.
Vicky Gene Robinson is a retired bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of New Hampshire. Robinson was elected bishop coadjutor in 2003 and succeeded as bishop diocesan in March 2004. Before becoming bishop, he served as Canon to the Ordinary for the Diocese of New Hampshire.
Samuel Alphonsius Stritch was an American Cardinal prelate of the Catholic Church. He served as archbishop of the Archdiocese of Chicago from 1940 to 1958 and as pro-prefect of the Sacred Congregation for Propagation of the Faith from March 1958 until his death two months later. He was elevated to the cardinalate by Pope Pius XII in 1946.
Patrick Aloysius O'Boyle was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as the first resident Archbishop of Washington from 1948 to 1973, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1967.
Archbishop Demetrios is a former elder archbishop of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America and Exarch of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. He resigned from this position in 2019.
Michael Bruce Curry is an American bishop who was the 27th presiding bishop and primate of the Episcopal Church. Elected in 2015, he was the first African American elected to the role, having previously served as Bishop of North Carolina from 2000 to 2015. His tenure as presiding bishop ended on November 1, 2024, and he was succeeded by Sean Rowe.
The American Religious Townhall is a syndicated weekly television program in which clergy from several religious denominations debate various religious, political, and social issues.1 The show was started in 1952 by Bishop A. A. Leiske and continued by his son Pastor Robert Leiske. The moderator of the show is Pastor Jerry Lutz. The show is taped in Dallas, Texas. A different issue is debated on each episode.
Thomas Gerard Wenski is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He was appointed archbishop of the Archdiocese of Miami by Pope Benedict XVI on April 20, 2010, and was installed on June 1, 2010. He previously served as bishop of the Diocese of Orlando (2004–2010), coadjutor bishop of Orlando (2003–2004), and auxiliary bishop of Miami (1997–2003).
Religion in Atlanta, while historically centered on Protestant Christianity, now involves many faiths as a result of the city and metro area's increasingly international population. While Protestant Christianity still maintains a strong presence in the city, in recent decades Catholic Christians have gained a strong foothold due to migration patterns. Atlanta also has a considerable number of ethnic Christian congregations, such as Korean Baptist, Methodist, and Presbyterian Churches, the Tamil Church Atlanta, Telugu Church, Hindi Church, Malayalam Church, Ethiopian, Chinese, and many more traditional ethnic religious groups. Large non-Christian faiths are present in the form of Buddhism, Judaism and Hinduism. Overall, there are over 1,000 places of worship within Atlanta.
Crossroads United Methodist Church is a historic Methodist church in Canton, Ohio. Originally the First Methodist Episcopal Church, it was renamed Church of the Savior United Methodist in 1968. Then in 2014, after its congregation was merged with Saint Paul's United Methodist Church, it was renamed Crossroads United Methodist Church. It was built in 1881 in a High Victorian Gothic style. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.
Robert John Brennan is an American prelate of the Catholic Church who has served as bishop of the Diocese of Brooklyn in New York City since 2021. Previously he served as an auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Rockville Centre in New York from 2012 to 2019, and as bishop of the Diocese of Columbus in Ohio from 2019 to 2021.
Peter David Eaton is the fourth and current bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Southeast Florida.
Albert Theodore "Ted" Eastman was an American prelate who served as the twelfth Bishop of Maryland from 1986 to 1994.
This is a timeline of women in religion. See also: Timeline of women in religion in the United States, and Timeline of women's ordination.
Edward Victor Hill Sr. was an American pastor. He was senior pastor at the Mount Zion Missionary Baptist Church in Los Angeles, California from 1961 until his death; under his leadership, it became one of the largest African-American congregations in the US. A prominent figure within the wider Baptist movement, he also served as co-chair of the Baptist World Alliance and was closely aligned with fellow evangelists such as Billy Graham.
Peter F. Manto is an American Anglican bishop currently serving as bishop ordinary of the Reformed Episcopal Church's Diocese of the Central States.