Religious Left Calls for ‘Third Reconstruction’ at Inaugural Prayer Service

On Thursday, January 21, Religious Left activist The Rev. Dr. William Barber II delivered the homily at the National Prayer Service for the 59th presidential inauguration of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris. This year’s service, which included officials from across numerous faiths, was called the “most LGBTQ inclusive inaugural prayer service in U.S. history” by the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), a Washington-based LGBTQ advocacy organization.

The National Prayer Service customarily takes place at the Episcopal Church’s Washington National Cathedral following each presidential inauguration. Although the National Cathedral was built in the 20th century, the tradition of an inaugural prayer service dates back to the inauguration of George Washington. President Biden and Vice President Harris attended this year’s service remotely from the White House, as the service was livestreamed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The livestream can be found on the Cathedral’s website.

Barber, a Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) pastor from North Carolina, is a prominent anti-poverty activist, president of Repairers of the Breach, and co-chair of Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival. Barber has offered prayers at Democratic National Conventions and gained prominence in the “Moral Mondays” protests against budget cuts advanced by the Republican-led North Carolina state legislature. Themes of government intervention to address economic inequality and racial injustice suffused his homily on Thursday morning.

“We must have a third reconstruction. We must address the interlocking injustices of systemic racism, poverty, ecological devastation, denial of health care, the war economy, and the false distorted moral narrative of religious nationalism,” Barber advocated. “No America has yet been all that she has hoped to be, but right here and right now a third reconstruction is possible if we choose.”

One of the service’s readings came from Isaiah 58:6-12, which begins, “Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice…” Barber equated God’s command as seen in Isaiah to loosen the chains of injustice by “getting rid of exploitation in the workplace, freeing the oppressed, and cancelling debts.”

In preaching on inequality, Barber quoted President Franklin Delano Roosevelt during his 1937 inaugural address: “The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little.” He also reminded of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s quote, “The time has come for an all-out world war against poverty.”

The interfaith National Prayer Service included prayers from archbishops, priests, pastors, rabbis, and imams. In her welcoming address, Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde of the Episcopal Dioceses of Washington called the service “reflective of the many faith traditions of our land.”

On Tuesday, HRC released a press release praising the Biden-Harris inaugural prayer service as the most LGBTQ inclusive in U.S. history. Two transgender faith leaders, The Rev. Dr. Paula Stone Williams of the non-denominational Left Hand Church of Longmont, Colorado and United Church of Christ official Barbara Satin of the National LGBTQ Task Force, participated in Thursday’s service.

“President-elect Biden’s commitment to inclusion and mirroring the true image of America in the new administration shines through powerfully in this historic, LGBTQ inclusive, prayer service. This service reflects a critical change in tone away from the cynical use of religion and faith as weapons of division against the LGBTQ community, and instead towards tools of service in the work of justice and inclusion,” stated HRC president Alphonso David.

Prayers outside of Barber’s homily also focused on inequality and injustice. Rabbi Sharon Brous from Los Angeles asserted, “Give us strength, God, as we usher in the dawn of a new America — a justice-driven multiracial democracy… A new America that leaves behind the fallacy of profit over people and instead affirms that every one of us deserves to live in full dignity.”

Other participants, such as Imam Azhar Subedar from Plano, Texas, focused on national unity. “It is not the color of our skin, the languages we speak, even the way we live, or the faith or belief we ascribe to, rather the common ground that unites us all [as Americans],” stated Subedar.

An official program for the Biden-Harris inaugural National Prayer Service can be found here.