c. 2005 Religion News Service
WASHINGTON _ The Rev. Luis Leon said he treats President Bush just like any other parishioner at the historic St. John’s Church, which is just a short walk from the White House.
“I’m not an adviser of any fashion,” he said in an interview. “My relationship is that of the local pastor of the church that he attends.”
But the man who is scheduled to give the invocation before Bush is sworn into office for the second time on Thursday (Jan. 20) acknowledges his role, directing an Episcopal church attended by presidents dating to James Madison, is unique.
“If you’re looking at the iconography of Washington, this fits somewhere in that iconography,” he said. “A lot of people know about the little yellow church across the street from the White House.”
The most famous worshipper and the first lady attend once or twice a month when they’re in town, the rector reports. They sit in Pew 54 _ nine rows from the front _ marked with a brass plate that reads “The President’s Pew” and furnished with kneelers embroidered with the names of past presidents.
“I don’t ever change a sermon because he’s coming to church or I don’t change a sermon because he’s not coming to church,” Leon said Sunday, sitting in the parish house, a second historic landmark located next to the steepled church with a dome bordered in stained glass.
The one exception will be on Thursday, when Leon will give a short homily during a private Inauguration Day prayer service at the church.
Though he usually preaches just like other ministers, his role as a sometimes-tour guide may not be so typical. Before the president arrived for the 8 a.m. service Sunday, Leon advised a visiting Boy Scout troop about prime seats.
“I said, `Move over to the center of the church and if you want to shake hands with the president, you’ll have a better chance of doing that,”’ he recalled. “Those kids got a thrill, meeting the president.”
Since December, the 55-year-old native of Cuba has known that he was designated by the White House to give the invocation at the inauguration. California atheist Michael Newdow had tried to halt those prayers, but his efforts were struck down by district and appeals courts in recent days.
Leon said he’s developed prayerful “talking points” on thanksgiving and hope, but he doesn’t intend to pray in Jesus’ name.
“I think it needs to be more inclusive,” he said. “The American character is all sorts of languages and religions and what we’re doing on that day is celebrating that.”
Leon considers Bush to be a member of his church, given his regular attendance. The president, who once was a Presbyterian Sunday school teacher, remains a member of Highland Park United Methodist Church in Dallas. He was baptized in an Episcopal church in New Haven, Conn., according to “The Faith of George W. Bush” by Stephen Mansfield.
Jan Nunley, deputy director of Episcopal News Service, said church law says members whose baptisms have been recorded in any Episcopal church and who have received Holy Communion at least three times in the previous year are considered to be communicants.
Bush stands in line for Communion and “shakes hands with everybody at the exchange of the peace, just like everybody else,” Leon said.
But unlike some worshippers who might walk to a nearby church, the president travels by a more secure motorcade.
The only exception to that rule in recent times was when President Clinton walked over with now-Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton when a huge snowstorm hit Washington in 1996.
Although the church is known most for its presidential parishioners, Leon said he likes the diversity that comes from leading a downtown church, a role he had in other cities along the Eastern Seaboard before arriving at St. John’s in 1994. An average of 450 people attend the three services each week.
“It’s multicultural in that we have people here who are from the high and mighty to people who are not high and mighty in terms of how the world sees these things,” he said.
“I think that’s what the church is at its best.”
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