National Prayer Service with President Obama Webcast

On Sunday HBO broadcast the events at the Lincoln Memorial - and they did so for free. CNN has been using Facebook to create a virtual viewing party of the inaugurgation on Tuesday. And, unknown to most people, the Washington National Cathedral is webcasting the National Prayer Service on Wednesday.

Webcasting will begin at 9:30 AM with the service scheduled to begin at 10:00 AM. The newly sworn in president will be joined by religious leaders of many faiths for this by invitation only worship service. The National Prayer Service has been a part of the inaugural events since the election of George Washington as our first president.

A list of religious leaders participating in the event has been released by the Presidential Inaugural Committee. They are:

-Reverend Samuel T. Lloyd III, Dean of the Washington National Cathedral (Welcome)
-Reverend John Bryon Chane, Episcopal Bishop of Washington (Invocation)
-Reverend Otis Moss Jr., Senior Pastor Emeritus, Olivet Institutional Baptist Church in Cleveland, Ohio (Opening Prayer)
-Reverend Andy Stanley, Senior Pastor, North Point Community Church, Alpharetta, Georgia (Prayer for Civil Leaders)
-Dr. Cynthia Hale, Senior Pastor, Ray of Hope Christian Church, Atlanta, Georgia(Scripture Reading)
-Archbishop Demetrios, Primate of the Greek Orthodox Church in America, New York City (Scripture Reading)
-The Most Reverend Francisco Gonzalez, S.F., Auxiliary Bishop of Washington (Scripture Reading)
-Rabbi David Saperstein, Executive Director, Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, Washington, D.C. (Psalm)

Responsive prayers given by six leaders will symbolize America’s traditions of religious tolerance and freedom:

—Dr. Ingrid Mattson, President, Islamic Society of North America, Hartford, CT
—Rev. Suzan Johnson-Cook, Senior Pastor, Bronx Christian Fellowship, New York City
—Rabbi Jerome Epstein, Director, United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism, New York City
—Rev. Carol Wade of the Washington National Cathedral
—Dr. Uma Mysorekar, President, Hindu Temple Society of North America, New York City
—Rev. Jim Wallis, President, Sojourners, Washington, D.C.
—Rabbi Haskal Lookstein, Congregation Kehilath Jeshurunm, New York City
—Pastor Kirbyjon Caldwell, Senior Pastor, Windsor Village United Methodist Church, Houston, TX

-Sharon E. Watkins, General Minister and President, Disciples of Christ (Christian Church) (Sermon)

-Donald W. Wuerl, Archbishop of Washington, D.C. (Prayer for the Nation)
-Bishop Katherine Jefferts-Schori, Presiding Bishop, Episcopal Church USA (Closing Prayer)
Reverend Wesley Granberg-Michaelson, General Secretary of the Reformed Church in America (Benediction)

This is an opportunity for us to come together not only in celebration (as on Sunday) or in the transfer of power (as on Tuesday), but in a spirit of unity. In this interfaith worship we are called to remember the commonality of our faiths, each of which teaches us about a power that transcends the frailty of humankind. I will be there on Wednesday (virtually, of course) and I hope that you and I will be joined in an attitude of prayer, hopeful for our nation's future, hopeful about our planet's future.