ICYMI: Senator Coons stresses respect and faith at 70th National Prayer Breakfast

Press Release

In case you missed it, U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.) spoke at the 70th Annual Prayer Breakfast this past week. During his speech, Senator Coons emphasized the importance of faith and prayer in tumultuous times and stressed the role faith plays in leadership and confronting injustice. The National Prayer Breakfast also featured the remarks of keynote speaker Bryan Stevenson, the Milton, Del.-born founder and Executive Director of the Equal Justice Initiative, as well as President Biden, Vice President Harris, and other congressional leaders.

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"I think this year is a positive reset that allows us to focus on the original mission of the prayer breakfast, which was a much narrower engagement between Congress, the President, and some inspirational singers and speakers," said Coons, a Democrat.

"This is the 70th anniversary of the National Prayer Breakfast. Every president has spoken every year for 70 years," Coons said. "I think that sends an important message: Even in times of difficulty and division, even as the control of the White House and Congress changes party, we can come together in a nonsectarian celebration of prayer in the spirit of Jesus -- with people from a wide range of faith backgrounds -- and still find time to listen to each other, to respect each other and to pray together."

"It is a great day for Delaware," he said. "I look forward to remaining engaged as the National Prayer Breakfast continues to navigate its next chapter and explore what it should look like as we come out of the pandemic."

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Sen. Christopher A. Coons (D-Del.), a close Biden ally and one of the organizers of the prayer breakfast, promised this year's event would be a "positive reset." With Trump gone, the breakfast returned to its roots as an event to showcase unity and tradition, however unusual in these times.

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"I've had a chance to hear really powerful moving stories from some of the most conservative Republican members of the Senate and it's felt real bridges of friendship for us," he said. "And I hope the weeks that I've spoken, they've seen the same that even though they think I'm terribly misguided and have awful policy ideas that I'm actually not that bad a person and a decent Christian and someone who is caring and a good friend."

"My prayer is that we would still the noise, the anger, that we would make quiet our hearts and make space in our lives for that which moves us, grounds us, inspires us, and allows us to see the divine in each other," Coons said.

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