Legislative Prayer Calendar

Texas Impact 2015

I offer you peace.

I offer you love.
I offer you friendship.
I see your beauty.
I hear your need.
I feel your feelings.
My wisdom flows
from the highest source.
I salute that source in you.
Let us work together.
For unity and peace.
Mahatma Gandhi

The 84th Texas Legislature convenes on Tuesday, January 13, 2015. During the 140-day regular legislative session, our 150 representatives and 31 senators will
consider thousands of pieces of legislation that will impact the lives of all 26 million Texans.
People of faith have a responsibility to participate in the life of the community, including engaging the political realities of their time. This engagement can include
voting, debating, lobbying, educating and many other avenues of civic activity.
But first, last, and always, it includes prayer.
The intercessions, exhortations, adulations and lamentations of people of faith are uniquely important expressions in the public square.
During the 2015 legislative session, we hope you will join with Texas Impact and people of all faiths throughout our state in praying for our elected officials, their
staffs, their constituents, and the multitude of people, places and things that make up our collective identity as the Lone Star State.
For each day of the session, this prayer calendar includes the names of one or more lawmakers and at least one non-legislative object or concept for your prayerful
attention. We suggest you pray in your own tradition for lawmakers, their staffs, and their constituents. Looking to step outside your own prayer tradition? Each
week well be posting suggested prayers from various traditions on our website at texasimpact.org/pray2015
Thanks for praying!

As We Are
Reverend Dr. Whit Bodman, Texas Impact Board President
O Beloved of the Beloved, what can we say to thee?
We are as we are:
Sometimes plump and self-satisfied, having no need of thee;
Sometimes crippled and torn, having no love for thee;
Sometimes empty and afraid, having no trust in thee.
We are as we are:
seldom having sought thee seriously,
seldom having listened to thee earnestly,
seldom having followed thee faithfully.
We are as we are.
Enter us, O spirit of power and gentleness.
Astonish us. Overcome us. Uproot us.
Fill us with this earthy fruit and heavenly hospitality,
but starve us for thee, lest we sate ourselves with ourselves,
and fail to quest for thee.
We are as we are, but not as we can be.
Bend us toward one another--Jew, Baha'i, Muslim, whatever the shape of our faith.
Lift us beyond the terror of difference to the delight of difference.
Nourish us now on this sweet fare of our neighbor's words and smiles,
for in them is a taste of the feast that is to come,
once we no longer are as we are.
Amen.

January 2015
Dear Father:
Since you made us all, and we are Your children, help us to act like brothers and sisters.
We are ordinary people
Gathered in extraordinary circumstances
To help create laws that will touch on every living creature in this great state:
Lobbyists and lumbermen; oilmen and office workers;
Herefords and Santa Gertudis; Longhorns and Aggies; Highland Parkers and Dime Boxers;
Lawyers, doctors, engineers, cotton pickers, road builders, migrant workers;
Corporate giants and dependent children of the unemployed; armadillos and whooping cranes.
When You came into the world in person, You deliberately chose to enter through a poor family: Mary and Joseph...who had such little clout
that they could not afford advance reservations at the Bethlehem La Quinta.
When the back rooms began to fill with smoke and the lobbyist buffets bulge our waists and dull our sensitivities...
And when pressure and deadlines push us to the breaking point...
Remind us that Your ultimate and resolute involvement in history
Always came down on the side of Love, Justice and Mercy
Especially for the poor...the lame...the undocumented alien...the oppressed...those with handicapping conditions...the fatherless.
And when we find it uncomfortable to live with Your priorities, perhaps we will not so lightly invite you to be present among us.
But here we are, all set to go.
Bless the members of the Senate, the Lieutenant Governor, the Lobbyists, their secretaries, the pages, the sergeant-at-arms, the doorkeepers,
and the visitors in the gallery. May the work of our minds, hands, and hearts be offered as our sacrifice of love to You. In the name of Abraham,
Isaac, Jacob, and Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.
Invocation by the Reverend Jack D. Heacock, First United Methodist Church, Austin, on Opening Day of the Texas Senate, January 13, 1981

~ January 2015 ~
Sun

Mon

Tue

Wed

Thu

Fri

10

11

12

13 Legislative Day 1

14 Day 2

15 Day 3

16

Sen. Jose Rodriguez

Christian Orthodox
Holiday: New Year

Rep. Andrew S. Murr

Rep. Joe C. Pickett

Sat

Day 4

17

Day 5

Rep. Patricia Harless

Rep.Cindy Burkett,

Sen. Brian Birdwell,

Pre-Schoolers

Construction Workers

Ranchers

Water
Places of Worship

18 Day 6

19

20

Day 7

Day 8

Day 9

22

Day 10

23

Day 11

24

Day 12

Rep. Matt Krause

Martin Luther King, Jr. Day Rep. Chris Paddle

Sen. Sylvia Garcia

Rep. Terry Canales

Rep. Rick Gallindo

Rep. Stephanie Klick

Scholars

Rep. John Zerwas

Rep. John Otto

Wind Farms

Pilots

Actors

Athletes

Religious Leaders

25

Day 13

26

Public Parks

27

Day 14

Day 15

28

Day 16

Rep. Eric Johnson

Sen. Paul Bettencourt

Rep. Joe D. Deshotel

Rep. Scott Turner

Pineywoods Eco-Region

Rep. Senfronia Thompson

Science Majors

Non-Profits

Authors

21

29

Day 17

Professors

30

Day 18

Day 19

Sen. Kellly Hancock

Rep. Bryan Hughes

Rep. Ana Hernandez

Highways & Infrastructure

Service Industry Workers

31

February 2015

Collect for the Nation

Episcopal Book of Common Prayer

Lord God Almighty, you have made all the peoples of the earth for your glory, to serve you in freedom and in peace: Give to the people of our
country a zeal for justice and the strength of forbearance, that we may use our liberty in accordance with your gracious will; through Jesus
Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

~ February 2015 ~
Sun

Day 20

Mon

Day 21

Tue

Day 22

Groundhog Day

Rep. Craig Goldman

Sen. Royce West

Rep. Armando Martinez

Rep. Oscar Longoria

Wed

Day 23

Jewish Holiday:
Tu BShevat
Rosa Parks Day

NASA
Rep. Joe Farias
Labor Unions

Gulf Coast Prairies &

Marshes Eco-Region

Thu

Day 24

Fri

Day 25

Sat

Day 26

Rep. Geanie Morrison

Sen. Robert Nichols

Rep. Linda Koop

Palo Duro Canyon State

Park

Rep. Richard Pena

Raymond

Kindergarteners

Rep. Tony Tinderholt

Rain

Natural Resources

Day 27

Day 28

10

Day 29

11

Day 30

12

Day 31

13

Day 32

14

Day 33

Rep. Joseph E. Moody

Rep. Eddie Lucio, III

Sen. Chuy Hinojosa

Rep. Roberto Alonzo

Rep. Bobby Guerra

Rep. Byron Cook

Valentines Day

Artists

Engineers

Rep. Jonathan Strickland

Rep. Eddie Rodriguez

Research & Development

Creativity

Sen. Van Taylor

Festivals

Science

Rep. J.M. Lozano

Friends

15

Day 34

16

Day 35

17

Day 36

Rep. Morgan Meyer

Presidents Day

Rep. Joe Straus

Newlyweds

Rep. Ed Thompson

City Commissioners

Mayors

18

Day 37

19

Day 38

20

Day 39

21

Day 40

Christian Holiday:
Ash Wednesday

Rep. Donna Howard

Rep. Dawanna Dukes

Rep. Doug Miller

Sen. Rodney Ellis

South Texas Brush Country

Eco-Region

School Principals

Firefighters

Rep. Allen Fletcher

Sen. Craig Estes

Family

22

Day 41

23

Day 42

24

Day 43

25

Day 44

26

Day 45

27

Day 46

28

Day 47

Sen. Larry Taylor

Rep. Lyle Larson

Rep. Giovanni Capriglione

Rep. Matt Shaheen

Sen. Konni Burton

Rep. John Smithee

Rep. Harold V. Dutton, Jr.

Rep. Jodie Laubenberg

City Planners

Rolling Plans Eco-Region

Police Officers

Rep. Elliot Nashitat

Animal Shelters

Schools

Renewable Electricity

Padre Island National

Seashore

March 2015
Prayer for Times of Conflict
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
God, our refuge and strength, you have bound
us together in a common life. In all our conflicts,
help us to confront one another without hatred or
bitterness, to listen for your voice amid competing
claims, and to work together with mutual
forbearance and respect.
O God, where hearts are fearful and constricted,
grant courage and hope. Where anxiety is
infectious and widening, grant peace and
reassurance. Where impossibilities close every door
and window, grant imagination and resistance.
Where distrust twists our thinking, grant healing
and illumination. Where spirits are daunted and
weakened, grant soaring wings and strengthened
dreams.
All these things we ask in the name of Jesus Christ,
our Savior and Lord.
Amen.

~ March 2015 ~
Sun

Day 4

Mon

Day

Tue

Day 5

Rep. Abel Herrero

Texas Independence Day

Rep. Mary E. Gonzalez

Public Transit Workers

Sen. Bob Hall

Enchanted Rock State

Natural Area

Apr 2015

Wed

Day 5

Jewish Holiday:
Taanit Esther
Rep. Matt Rinaldi

Thu

Day 5

Rep. Jeff Leach

College Students

Fri

Day 5

Jewish Holiday:
Shashan Purim

Sat

Day 5

Rep. Rolando Gutierrez

Math Teachers

Sen. John Whitmire

Rep. Jim Murphy

Teachers

Rep. Dan Huberty

History Teachers

Libraries

Day 5

Day 5

10

Day 5

11

Day 5

12

Day

13

Day 6

14

Day 6

Rep. David Simpson

Rep. Matt Schaefer

Sen. Kirk Watson

Rep. Boris Miles

Rep. Tan Parker

Rep. Alma Allen

Sen. Carlos Uresti

Coastal Sands Eco-Region

Historic Landmarks

Rep. Kyle Kacal

Non- rofit Employees

Oak Woods & Prairies

Eco-Region

Colleges & Universities

Rep. Four Price

High Schoolers

15

Day 6

16

Day 6

17

Day 6

Safe Houses & Shelters

18

Day 6

19

Day 6

20

Day 6

Rep. Rodney Anderson

Rep. Tom Craddick

St. Patricks Day

Sen. Charles Perry

Rep. Scott Sanford

Rep. J.D. Sheffield

Poets

Disaster Response Teams

Rep. Jason Villalba

Rep. Jessica Farrar

Trans Pecos Eco-Region

Beaches & the Gulf of

Mexico

Traditions

Volunteers

22

Day

Sen. Joan Huffman

Rep. James White

23

Day 7
Sen. Jos Menndez

24

Day 7

Day 7

Christian Holiday:
Sunday

26

Day 7

27

Day 7

Rep. Wayne Smith

28

Day 7

Rep. Larry Gonzales

Rep. Sylvester Turner

Sen. Donna Campbell

Rep. Dade Phelan

Rep. James Frank

Coaches

Innovation & Technology

Rep. Paul Workman

Rep. Susan King

Local Government

Armed Forces

Advocates

Journalists

30

Day 7

31

Day 7

Sen. Judith Zaffirini

Rep. Dennis Paul

Rep. Rick Miller

Little Leaguers

Rep. John Wray

Public Transportation

Day 7

Day 6

Rep. Hubert Vo

Doctors

29

25

21

Mental Health Workers

Notes:

April 2015

Oh Allah! I seek Your guidance by virtue of

Your knowledge, and I seek ability by virtue
of Your power, and I ask You of Your great
bounty. You have power; I have none. And
You know; I know not. You are the Knower
of hidden things.
Oh Allah! If in Your knowledge, (this
matter*) is good for my religion, my
livelihood and my affairs, immediate and
in the future, then ordain it for me, make
it easy for me, and bless it for me. And if in
Your knowledge, (this matter*) is bad for
my religion, my livelihood and my affairs,
immediate and in the future, then turn it
away from me, and turn me away from it.
And ordain for me the good wherever it
may be, and make me content with it.

~ April 2015 ~
Sun

Mon

Tue

May 2015

Wed

Day

Rep. Ron Simmons

Thu

Day 8

Christian Holiday:
Thursday

Lawyers
Rep. Dennis Bonnen
Food Banks

Fri

Day 8

Jewish Holiday:
First Day of Passover
Christian Holiday:
Good Friday

Sat

Day 8

Rep. Trent Ashby

Farmers

Sen. Brandon Creighton

Rep. Pat Fallon
Maintenance Workers

Day 8

Christian Holiday:
Easter Sunday

Day 8

Day 8

Day 8

Day 8

10

Day 8

Rep. Rafael Anchia

Sen. Lois Kolkhorst

Sen. Charles Schwertner

Rep. Angie Chen Button

Veterinarians

Rep. Garnet Coleman

Rep. Phil King

Architects

Public Health Workers

Marching Bands
Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer Rep. Debbie Riddle

Rep. Yvonne Davis

Family Time

Christian Orthodox
Holiday: Good Friday

11

Day 9

Jewish Holiday:
Last Day of Passover
Christian Orthodox
Holiday: Holy Saturday

Seminaries
Rep. Cecil Bell, Jr.
Cowboys

12

Day 9

13

Day 9

Christian Orthodox
Holiday: Easter

Christian Orthodox
Holiday: Easter Monday

Rep. Toni Rose

Rep. Molly White

Administrators

Culture

14

Day 9

Rep. Jimmie Don Aycock

Texas Historians

19

Day 9

Day 9

16

Day 9

17

Day 9

Day 9

Sen. Don Huffines

Rep. Dustin Burrows

Rep. Rene Olivei a

Rep. Sergio Munoz, Jr.

Hueco Tanks Historic Site

National Landmarks

Rep. Celia Israel

Plumbers

Veterans

20

Day 9

21

Day

22

Day 10

23

Day 10

24

Day 10

Rep. John Kuempel

San Jacinto Day

Rep. Kenneth Sheets

Sen. Kel Seliger

Rep. Will Metcalf

Rep. Jason Isaac

Vocation

Rep. Poncho Nevarez

Pediatricians

Rep. Helen Giddings

Natural Springs

Sam Houston

Entrepreneurs
Day 10

18

Tax Day
Jewish Holiday:
HaShoah

Sen. Jane Nelson

26

27

Day 10

Rep. Charlie Geren

Sen. Troy Fraser

Medical Researchers

Rep. Gary Elkins

High Plains Eco-Region

15

28

Day 10

Museums
Rep. Diego Bernal

Nursing Homes

29

Day 10

30

Day 10

Rep. Tony Dale

Rep. Ruth Jones McClendon

Nature Preserves

Airports & Seaports

Notes:

25

Day 10

Childrens Daycare

May 2015
A Prayer for Texas
Based on a 1927 prayer by Rabbi Dr. Louis Ginzberg
Our God and God of our ancestors:
Accept with mercy our prayer for our state and its
government. Pour out your blessing on this state, on its
leaders, judges, officers and officials, who work faithfully for
the public good. Teach them from the laws of Your Torah,
enlighten them with the rules of Your justice, so that peace,
tranquillity, happiness and freedom will never depart from
our state.
God of all that lives, please bestow Your spirit on all the
inhabitants of our state, and plant love, fellowship, peace
and friendship between the different communities and faiths
that dwell here. Uproot from their hearts all hate, animosity,
jealousy and strife, in order to fulfill the longings of its
people, who aspire for its dignity, and desire to see it as a light
for all people.
And so may it be God's will that our state be a blessing for all
who live on earth, and that fellowship and liberty will dwell
between them. Establish soon the vision of your prophet:
Nation will not raise a sword against nation, and they will no
longer learn war, and, as it is said: for all of them will know
Me, from the smallest to the greatest.
Amen.

~ May 2015 ~
Sun

Mon

Tue

Jun 2015

Wed

Thu

Fri

Day 1

Sat

Day 11

Sen. Eddie Lucio

Rep. Dwayne Bohac

Rep. DeWayne Burns

Military Personnel

Janitors

Day 11

Day 11

Day 11

Day 11

Rep. Stuart Spitzer

Rep. Dan Flynn

Sen. Kevin Eltife

Rep. Gene Wu

Places of Worship

Backland Prairies

Rep. Ken King

BBQ

State History

10

Day 11

11

Day 1

12

Day 12

Day 11

Day 11

Day 11

Muslim Holiday:
Isra & Miraj

Rep. Doc Anderson

Rep. Todd A. Hunter

Rep. Mark Keough

Department of
Transportation

Hospitals

Newspapers

13

Day 12

14

Day 12

15

Day 12

16

Day 12

Rep. Bill Zedler

Rep. Cesar Blanco

Rep. Travis Clardy

Rep. Jim Keffer

Rep. Tracy O. King

Armed Forces Day

Rep. Greg Bonnen

Guadalupe Mountains
National Park

Donations

Community

Musicians

Memorials

Rep. Chris Turner

Llano Uplift Eco-Region

Community Colleges

17

Day 12

18

Day 12

19

Day 12

20

Day 12

21

Day 1

Rep. Brooks Landgraf

Rep. Gary VanDeaver

Rep. Armando Walle

Rep. Carol Alvarado

Rep. John M. Frullo

Mentors

Family Gatherings
Rep. Ina Minjarez

Foster Parents

Social & Case Workers

Acts of Kindness

24

Day 13
Memorial Day
Jewish Holiday:
of Shavout
Rep. Drew Springer, Jr.

25

Day 13

26

Day 13

Day 1

Rep. Phil Stephenson

Public Discourse

Day 13

28

Day 13

Day 13

23

Day 13

Jewish Holiday:
First Day of Shavout

Christian Holiday:
Pentecost

Rep. Mike Schofield

Rep. Ron Reynolds

Religious Leaders

Fellowship

29

Day 13

30

Day 13

Rep. Ryan Guillen

Rep. Nicole Collier

Rep. Justin Rodriguez

Rep. John Raney

Rep. Myra Crownover

Rep. Gilbert Pena

Recreation

Hiking Trails

Edwards Plateau Eco-Region

Rep. Marisa Marquez

Big Bend National Park

English Teachers

Heritage

Pets

31

27

22

Day 140

Sine D

Notes:

Faith in the Public Square

A critic once took the late 19th century preacher Dwight Moody to task for his involvement in political and social affairs. Are you not a citizen of
heaven? the detractor asked. Yes, someday I shall be, Moody responded, but right now Im registered to vote in Cook County, Illinois.
Texas Impact is a public policy information and advocacy center for Texas faith communities. Its task is to advocate, and help people of faith to
advocate, the social witness perspectives and policies of their faith traditions.
Christianity, Judaism, Islam and other theological traditions teach that communities and individuals of faith should be concerned about public
policy. Theologian John Calvin wrote, Civil magistery is a calling not only holy and legitimate, but by far the most sacred and honorable in human life.
Ministry through public policy advocacy offers a chance to translate deep convictions about justice, peace and freedom from words into reality.
The political process is where decisions are made that help or harm people; decisions that help to make the kind of world God intends.
Texas Impact staff members visit policy-makers and their staffs, testify before legislative committees and facilitate the testimony of religious leaders. This involvement helps to clarify the moral and ethical issues at stake in public policy.

Find out more at www.texasimpact.org

Copyright 2015 Texas Impact. All rights reserved. All photos by Sean Hennigan.

Texas Impact was founded in 1973 on the central religious conviction that religious communities are called to minister to the whole person--to respond with
compassion to the physical, emotional and spiritual needs of all people. The Texas religious leaders who established Texas Impact believed that such a ministry
couldnt be performed adequately without a concern for basic social problems at the state government level. Texas Impact and the Interfaith Center exist to advance
state public policies that are consistent with the commonly held social principles of our member faith traditions.
Texas Impacts member organizations include Christian denominational bodies, regional Jewish and Muslim social justice committees, and local interfaith councils.
In addition to denomination-level member organizations, Texas Impact also has dozens of supporting congregations and hundreds of individual members who
pay an annual membership fee to be part of our network. Texas Impact and its sister organization, the Texas Interfaith Center for Public
Policy, form an interfaith network that brings faith to bear on social issues through grassroots education and policy advocacy. Together, we
give people of faith the information and leadership skills they need to help policymakers improve conditions for families and communities
throughout Texas.

Texas Impact 200 East 30th Street Austin, Texas 78705 512-472-3903 texasimpact.org