News and History

Read the press release announcing the 2013 service  »

We’re pleased to announce the participants in the Presidential Inaugural Prayer Service scheduled for Tuesday, January 22, when the Cathedral will once again bring Americans together to pray for the nation at the start of a new presidential term—a service it has provided since 1933. This year’s interfaith service will include voices of faith from several Christian denominations as well as Islam, Judaism, and Sikhism, representing what Dean Gary Hall calls “the distinct role that people of faith have to play in our national discourse and policy decisions.”

Read the whole list of service participants  ⇩

PARTICIPANTS

The Right Reverend Mariann Edgar Budde, bishop
Episcopal Diocese of Washington

The Very Reverend Gary Hall, dean
Washington National Cathedral

The Reverend Dr. Sharon E. Watkins, general minister and president
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in the United States and Canada

The Reverend Dr. Barbara Williams-Skinner, co-chair
National African American Clergy Network

The Reverend Elder Nancy L. Wilson, moderator
Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches

Rabbi Judy Schonfeld, executive vice president
Rabbinical Assembly

The Reverend Dr. Leith Anderson, president
National Association of Evangelicals

Kathryn Lohre, president
National Council of Churches

Imam Mohamed Magid, president
Islamic Society of North America

His Eminence Donald Cardinal Wuerl, archbishop
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington
District of Columbia

Sapreet Kaur, national executive director
The Sikh Coalition

The Reverend Charles Jenkins II, senior pastor
Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church, Chicago, Illinois

Dr. Stephen F. Schneck, director
Institute for Policy Research and Catholic Studies
Catholic University of America

The Reverend Gabriel Salguero, president
National Latino Evangelical Coalition

Rabbi Sharon Brous, founding rabbi
IKAR Jewish Community

The Reverend Dr. Serene Jones, president of the faculty
Union Theological Seminary, New York, New York

His Eminence Archbishop Demetrios of America, primate of the Greek Orthodox Church in America and exarch of the Ecumenical Patriarchate

The Reverend Adam Hamilton, senior pastor
United Methodist Church of the Resurrection, Leawood, Kansas

The Most Reverend Katharine Jefferts Schori, presiding bishop and primate
The Episcopal Church

Reverend Kirbyjon Caldwell, senior pastor
Windsor Village United Methodist Church, Houston, Texas

Laila Muhammad, founder and executive director
Ash-Shamsiyyah / The Umbrella Family Service, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Rabbi Rick Jacobs, president
Union for Reform Judaism, New York, New York

The Reverend Dr. Raphael Gamaliel Warnock, senior pastor
Ebenezer Baptist Church, Atlanta, Georgia

IN PROCESSION

The Clergy of the Cathedral & Episcopal Church House

Joining Dean Hall in welcoming the president and invited guests will be the Right Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde, bishop of Washington. The Most Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori, presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church, will participate as well, offering a prayer for the nation.

The Rev. Adam Hamilton, senior pastor at United Methodist Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, Kansas, has been selected to offer the sermon. It will be Hamilton’s first sermon delivered from the Cathedral’s historic Canterbury Pulpit.

Musicians participating in the service include the “President’s Own” Brass Ensemble of the U.S. Marine Band, and the Cathedral Choir, under the direction of Canon Michael McCarthy. Soloist Wintley Phipps and Washington Performing Arts Society’s Children of the Gospel Choir, who both participated in the 2009 prayer service, will sing anthems.

View the complete roster of musicians  ⇩

MUSICIANS

The Brass Ensemble of “The President’s Own” United States Marine Band
Colonel Michael J. Colburn, director

Washington Performing Arts Society Children of the Gospel Choir
Stanley Thurston, artistic director
Michele Fowlin, music director
Brandon Felder, piano
Rick Slye, percussion

Dr. Wintley Phipps, president and chief executive officer
US Dream Academy

Cantor Mikhail Manevich
Washington Hebrew Congregation, Washington, District of Columbia

Dr. Abdullah M. Khouj, director and imam
Islamic Center, Washington, District of Columbia

Allison Mondel, cantor
Washington National Cathedral

The Cathedral Choir
Canon Michael McCarthy, director of music
Washington National Cathedral

Dr. Edward M. Nassor, carillonneur
Washington National Cathedral

Christopher Betts, organist
Washington National Cathedral

Benjamin Straley, assistant organist
Washington National Cathedral

The Washington Ringing Society
Quilla Roth, ringing master

Sign up for a reminder to watch the live webcast on Tuesday, January 22, at 10:30 am  »

You can also learn more about past inaugural prayer services at the Cathedral:

• History of inaugural prayer services  »
• 2009 Inaugural Prayer Service Microsite  »
• Watch the 2009 service  »

And don’t miss the Sunday forum with acclaimed historian Michael Beschloss on “The Shape of a Second Term: Obama and Presidential Legacy.”