Democratic Missouri Rep. Emanuel Cleaver ended his prayer to open up the 117th Congress on Sunday with the words “amen and awoman.”
Video of the prayer’s ending was posted to Twitter by Republican Pennsylvania Rep. Guy Reschenthaler, who pointed out that the word “amen” is Latin for “so be it.”
“It’s not a gendered word,” Reschenthaler wrote. “Unfortunately, facts are irrelevant to progressives. Unbelievable.”
The prayer to open the 117th Congress ended with “amen and a-women.”
Amen is Latin for “so be it.”
It’s not a gendered word.
Unfortunately, facts are irrelevant to progressives. Unbelievable. pic.twitter.com/FvZ0lLMDDr
— Rep. Guy Reschenthaler (@GReschenthaler) January 3, 2021
“We ask it in the name of the monotheistic God, [unintelligible], and God known by many names and by many different faiths, amen, and awoman,” said Cleaver, an ordained United Methodist pastor.
I was honored to deliver the opening prayer for the 117th Congress. May God bless each and every Representative with the courage and wisdom to defend our democracy and the liberties we all hold so dearly. https://t.co/z3vkWOk7lc
— Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (@repcleaver) January 3, 2021
Cleaver’s prayer comes after the Rules Committee proposed changes to House rules to “honor all gender identities” by modifying pronouns and words for familial relations in favor of gender-neutral terms. (RELATED: Hakeem Jeffries Invokes Framers Of The Constitution To Defend New Gender-Neutral Language Rules)
The updated rules would change “pronouns and familial relationships in the House rules to be gender-neutral or removes references to gender, as appropriate, to ensure we are inclusive of all Members, Delegates, Resident Commissioners and their families – including those who are nonbinary,” according to an announcement from Democratic Massachusetts Rep. James McGovern, chairman of the Rules Committee.