Story Created:
Jan 20, 2009 at 2:00 PM PST
Story Updated:
Jan 20, 2009 at 2:01 PM PST
The Rev. Rick Warren, the evangelical Orange County preacher who delivered the invocation at Tuesday’s presidential inauguration, steered clear of the uproar that marked his selection to speak at the ceremony and hailed the installation of President Barack Obama as a symbol of the nation’s promise of equality.
When Obama chose him to deliver the invocation, Warren became a lightning rod for activists upset over California voters’ rejection of gay marriage, since Warren has been vocal in his opposition to the idea of same-sex unions.
But during his invocation, Warren expressed his gratitude to be able to live in a land “where the son of an African immigrant can rise to the highest level of our leadership” and exuded that “Doctor King and a great cloud of witnesses are shouting in heaven.”
“When we fail to treat our fellow human beings and all the Earth with the respect that they deserve, forgive us,” he said.
Warren mentioned “these difficult days ahead” and asked that we have humility and civility in our “attitudes even when we differ.”
He prayed for Obama “to have the wisdom to lead us with humility, the courage to lead us with integrity” and “the compassion to lead us with generosity.”
He asked God to help us remember that “we’re Americans, united not by race, religion or blood but to our commitment to freedom and justice for all.”
Warren closed with the Lord's Prayer.
About 100 supporters of gay rights staged a peaceful protest against Warren outside Saddleback Chruch in Lake Forest church Sunday.
The L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center last month called on Obama to rescind the invitation.
“Warren played an important role in helping to re-write the California Constitution to eliminate our rights,” said Darrel Cummings, the center’s chief of staff. “If President-elect Obama does not disinvite Rick Warren, then he is defining what inclusion in America will mean under his administration.
“It will mean that the practice of bigotry is acceptable and that as president — in the name of ‘inclusion’ — he will provide a place and platform for that bigotry to be expressed and grow.”
In response, Obama described himself as “a fierce advocate of equality for gay and lesbian Americans,” despite his opposition to same-sex marriage.
RSS Feeds 
