Trump attends Inauguration Day service with family, Joe Rogan, Zuckerberg — at church torched by leftists in 2020
President-elect Donald Trump and his family attended a prayer service at St. John's Episcopal Church on Layfayette Square across from the White House just hours ahead of his inauguration on Monday. While the church, known as the church of presidents, is historic for numerous reasons — every sitting president has attended the church since its completion in 1816 — St. John's might also have a special significance for Trump. He took enormous flak from the media and Democrats in 2020 for defiantly raising a Bible in front of the church the day after leftist radicals had vandalized the historic building and set it ablaze, stating that America is "the greatest country in the world. 'While Episcopal in nature, the service will be intentionally accessible and open, with prayers aimed at speaking to all. It will be explicitly nonpartisan.' Photos from the prayer service Monday revealed that besides the president, several of his grandchildren, Melania Trump, Barron Trump, and father-in-law Viktor Knavs, there were a number of other recognizable people in attendance, including Robert F. Kennedy Jr.; Vice President-elect JD Vance and his wife, Usha Vance; Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.); Rep. Mike Waltz (R-Fla.); Mark Zuckerberg; Jeff Bezos; Elon Musk, and Joe Rogan. While James Madison was the first president to attend the church, the tradition of kicking off Inauguration Day with a private prayer service reportedly started with President Franklin D. Roosevelt. A returning feature every four years is Roosevelt's prayer, which was written by the rector of the church at the time. Rev. Robert Fisher, the church's rector, told parishioners that this year's service would take on a different nature. "In a departure from recent years, when the service had grown to include many visiting guest clergy and others, I am intentionally returning it to its original, simpler nature," said Fisher, reported by Religion News Service. "The service will be based on Morning Prayer with psalms and other Scripture passages interspersed with hymns, an anthem, and collects from the Prayer Book. There will be no homily, and our opening hymn will be 'O God Our Help in Ages Past.'" "While Episcopal in nature, the service will be intentionally accessible and open, with prayers aimed at speaking to all. It will be explicitly nonpartisan," added Fisher. Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
President-elect Donald Trump and his family attended a prayer service at St. John's Episcopal Church on Layfayette Square across from the White House just hours ahead of his inauguration on Monday.
While the church, known as the church of presidents, is historic for numerous reasons — every sitting president has attended the church since its completion in 1816 — St. John's might also have a special significance for Trump. He took enormous flak from the media and Democrats in 2020 for defiantly raising a Bible in front of the church the day after leftist radicals had vandalized the historic building and set it ablaze, stating that America is "the greatest country in the world.
'While Episcopal in nature, the service will be intentionally accessible and open, with prayers aimed at speaking to all. It will be explicitly nonpartisan.'
Photos from the prayer service Monday revealed that besides the president, several of his grandchildren, Melania Trump, Barron Trump, and father-in-law Viktor Knavs, there were a number of other recognizable people in attendance, including Robert F. Kennedy Jr.; Vice President-elect JD Vance and his wife, Usha Vance; Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.); Rep. Mike Waltz (R-Fla.); Mark Zuckerberg; Jeff Bezos; Elon Musk, and Joe Rogan.
While James Madison was the first president to attend the church, the tradition of kicking off Inauguration Day with a private prayer service reportedly started with President Franklin D. Roosevelt. A returning feature every four years is Roosevelt's prayer, which was written by the rector of the church at the time.
Rev. Robert Fisher, the church's rector, told parishioners that this year's service would take on a different nature.
"In a departure from recent years, when the service had grown to include many visiting guest clergy and others, I am intentionally returning it to its original, simpler nature," said Fisher, reported by Religion News Service. "The service will be based on Morning Prayer with psalms and other Scripture passages interspersed with hymns, an anthem, and collects from the Prayer Book. There will be no homily, and our opening hymn will be 'O God Our Help in Ages Past.'"
"While Episcopal in nature, the service will be intentionally accessible and open, with prayers aimed at speaking to all. It will be explicitly nonpartisan," added Fisher.
Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!
Originally Published at Daily Wire, World Net Daily, or The Blaze
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