GOP applauds prayer service in Capitol ahead of health vote

Republicans announced a worship service in the Capitol Sunday before the vote on the healthcare bill.

The service was organized by Rep. Randy Forbes (R-Va.) and the bipartisan Congressional Prayer Caucus and will be held in Statuary Hall, which is just off the House floor.

House Republican Conference Chairman Mike Pence (Ind.) announced the service at an official House GOP conference meeting on Saturday that was opened to the press. Caucus meetings for both parties are normally held behind closed doors.

Republican House members applauded Pence’s announcement.

Forbes is the founder the Congressional Prayer Caucus, which is a [[[DELETE: non-partisan]]] group of lawmakers that regularly meets in the Capitol “before every session to pray for our country,” according to the group’s website.

A letter inviting all members, their spouses and their staffs to the service was signed by leaders of the caucus, Forbes, Rep. Mike McIntyre (D-N.C.), Rep. Jeff Miller (R-Fla.) and Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-Mo.),

The Prayer Caucus said Congress in 1800 approved the Capitol as a place of worship and that the government building was the largest church in Washington in 1867, with 2,000 weekly attendees for Sunday services.

“This Sunday, we plan to be a part of that history,” the Prayer Caucus’s leaders wrote.

Republicans aren’t the only ones publicly seeking spiritual guidance.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) noted during a Friday news conference on the healthcare bill that she was speaking on day of the feast of St. Joseph the Worker.

“It’s a day where we remember and pray to St. Joseph to benefit the workers of America, and that’s exactly what our healthcare bill will do,” Pelosi said during a press conference.

This post was updated at 3:33 p.m.