‘Amen And Awoman’: Minister Invokes Hindu God, Offers Gender Lesson During Opening Prayer For 117th Congress

Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO), who is an ordained United Methodist minister, opened the first session of the 117th Congress on Sunday by praying in the name of a Hindu god and twisting the word “amen” into a commentary on gender.

“Eternal God, noiselessly we bow before your throne of grace as we leave behind the politically and socially clamorous year of 2020,” began Cleaver, who served as the pastor of St. James United Methodist Church in Kansas City, Missouri, from 1972 to 2009.