ORLANDO, FL — Dr. Joel C. Hunter, senior pastor of Northland, A Church Distributed, offered a blessing over President Barack Obama this morning during an intimate, pre-inauguration service held at St. John’s Episcopal Church, located on Lafayette Square just across from the White House. The service is a tradition for those about to become President. Speakers included the church’s rector, Luis Leon, as well as prominent evangelical pastor T.D. Jakes.

Dr. Hunter has previously prayed with Mr. Obama on two noted occasions: over the phone on November 4, roughly 10 hours before he was declared winner of the presidential election; and at the closing of the Democratic National Convention in Denver, Colo.

At the service at St. John’s, attended only by a few hundred people, Dr. Hunter prayed the following blessing over our nation’s 44th President.

“Mr. President-elect, we are gathered in this historic church to convey God’s special blessing to you, your family, and your administration. In the ancient tradition of laying on of hands, would those of you sitting directly beside and behind the President-elect lean toward him and put your hands on his arms or shoulders as a physical means of communicating a spiritual grace? These blessings come from Scripture, because as God says to Jeremiah, ‘I am watching over my word to perform it’ [Jeremiah 1:12].

“Barack Hussein Obama, we now commission you with an iteration of God’s blessing to our father Abraham. God said, ‘I will make [through] you a great nation and I will bless you … so you shall be a blessing … and in you all the families of the earth will be blessed’ [Genesis 12:2-3].

“Next, by faith we call forth the personal qualities of the Holy Spirit that your family and country will need in you: ‘love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control’ [Galatians 5:22-23].

“Finally, we remind you of some of the blessings of your Lord and Savior: ‘Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven … blessed are those that hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be satisfied … blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God … blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me, rejoice and be glad for your reward in heaven is great …’ [Matthew 5:3, 6, 9, 11-12].”

Dr. Hunter turned to the then-President-elect and said: “Through your leadership, Mr. President-elect, may God bless the United States of America in a way that makes us a blessing to the whole world. Amen.”

Dr. Hunter, a pro-life Evangelical and also a registered Republican, is a longtime bridge builder who seeks common ground for the common good. Since June 1985, Dr. Hunter has served as senior pastor of Northland, A Church Distributed. He is the author of A New Kind of Conservative, which outlines a non-partisan approach to political involvement. Learn more at www.northlandchurch.net.