--- title: At Inaugural Prayer Service, a Glimpse of the Pastor-in-Chief’s Vision description: Today at the Washington National Cathedral’s Inaugural Prayer Service, United Methodist minister Adam Hamilton told President Obama that perhaps he had missed his calling. “Unlike... canonical: https://time.com/archive/7183577/at-inaugural-prayer-service-a-glimpse-of-the-pastor-in-chiefs-vision/ author: TIME Staff article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2013-01-22T19:44:52.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-03-18T07:18:04.275Z article:section: Politics og:title: At Inaugural Prayer Service, a Glimpse of the Pastor-in-Chief’s Vision og:description: Today at the Washington National Cathedral’s Inaugural Prayer Service, United Methodist minister Adam Hamilton told President Obama that perhaps he had missed his calling. “Unlike... og:url: https://time.com/archive/7183577/at-inaugural-prayer-service-a-glimpse-of-the-pastor-in-chiefs-vision/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt487d91f36498c47b/698b23299d83e86601ba1810/obama-national-cathedral-inauguration-prayer-service.jpg?branch=production&width=512&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 512 og:image:height: 288 og:image:alt: Obama Prayer Service og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: At Inaugural Prayer Service, a Glimpse of the Pastor-in-Chief’s Vision twitter:description: Today at the Washington National Cathedral’s Inaugural Prayer Service, United Methodist minister Adam Hamilton told President Obama that perhaps he had missed his calling. “Unlike... twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt487d91f36498c47b/698b23299d83e86601ba1810/obama-national-cathedral-inauguration-prayer-service.jpg?branch=production&width=512&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Politics](/section/politics/) # At Inaugural Prayer Service, a Glimpse of the Pastor-in-Chief's Vision > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=38d47f50-3de6-4524-a232-04235db64899&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) by [TIME Staff](https://time.com/author/time-staff/) Jan 22, 2013 7:44 PM UTC  People leave the Washington National Cathedral in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 22, 2013, after the National Prayer Service, attended by President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden, and their spouses. The 106-year-old Episcopal church has long hosted presidential inaugural services., this one following Monday's 57th Presidential Inauguration. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta) People leave the Washington National Cathedral in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 22, 2013, after the National Prayer Service, attended by President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden, and their spouses. The 106-year-old Episcopal church has long hosted presidential inaugural services., this one following Monday's 57th Presidential Inauguration. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta) ASSOCIATED PRESS—AP2013 by [TIME Staff](https://time.com/author/time-staff/) Jan 22, 2013 7:44 PM UTC Today at the Washington National Cathedral’s Inaugural Prayer Service, United Methodist minister Adam Hamilton told President Obama that perhaps he had missed his calling. “Unlike any other President that we’ve had, you have the ability to cast vision and inspire people,” he said. “You should have been a preacher.” It was a modest joke, but it had resonance after an inaugural speech when Obama sounded, at times, very much like a preacher. The President, whom Atlanta reverend Andy Stanley on Monday called “America’s Pastor-in-Chief,” linked the greatness of the U.S. to its credo of equality. He called for Americans to accept “our gay brothers and sisters,” fully welcome “the striving, hopeful immigrants,” and equally respect “our wives, our mothers, and daughters.” Those three priorities were reflected in Tuesday’s prayer service, which featured gays, Latinos, and women in key liturgical roles. The very first words of the service–the welcoming of honored guests to the Lord’s house–were delivered in Spanish. This opening was then translated into English, a subtle theological move to put the Spanish-speaking church on an equal plane with America’s Anglo churches. It was not a one-off inclusion. Later on in the service, Rev. Gabriel Salguero of the National Latino Evangelical Coalition included the liturgical refrain, “La palabra de dios” (the word of the Lord). Then Rev. Nancy Wilson, the moderator of the inclusive and affirming Metropolitan Community Churches, read the morning’s first scripture passage, from the prophet Isaiah. It was the first time that an openly gay minister addressed a president at an Inaugural Prayer Service. The choice was noteworthy. Rev. Luis Léon replaced the less-than-affirming Louie Giglio as the giver of yesterday’s inaugural benediction after anti-gay remarks Giglio made in 1990s recently surfaced, and the Washington National Cathedral, the site of the Inaugural Prayer Service since Franklin D. Roosevelt’s presidency, announced two weeks ago that it would begin marrying same-sex couples. A man preached the main sermon, but women had significant roles in the service. In addition to Wilson, participants included Serene Jones, president of Union Theological Seminary; Rabbi Julie Schonfeld, executive vice president of the Rabbinical Assembly; and Allison Mondel, cantor at Washington National Cathedral. While the service featured no familiar Evangelical mainstays, it was a classic American multi-faith event. Jewish, Muslim and Episcopal cantors sang sacred refrains; beloved Christian hymns included mainline staples “For the Beauty of the Earth” and “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessings”; and gospel choirs reminded everyone of Martin Luther King Jr.’s ethic of social justice. But the prayer service also reflected Obama’s call for a more inclusive America–and may be a harbinger of how America’s faithful life will change over the next four years. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/archive/7183577/at-inaugural-prayer-service-a-glimpse-of-the-pastor-in-chiefs-vision/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/archive/7183577/at-inaugural-prayer-service-a-glimpse-of-the-pastor-in-chiefs-vision/"},"headline":"At Inaugural Prayer Service, a Glimpse of the Pastor-in-Chief's Vision","datePublished":"2013-01-22T19:44:52.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-18T07:18:04.275Z","description":"Today at the Washington National Cathedral’s Inaugural Prayer Service, United Methodist minister Adam Hamilton told President Obama that perhaps he had missed his calling. “Unlike...","url":"https://time.com/archive/7183577/at-inaugural-prayer-service-a-glimpse-of-the-pastor-in-chiefs-vision/","keywords":[],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt487d91f36498c47b/698b23299d83e86601ba1810/obama-national-cathedral-inauguration-prayer-service.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt487d91f36498c47b/698b23299d83e86601ba1810/obama-national-cathedral-inauguration-prayer-service.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Obama Prayer Service","caption":"Obama Prayer Service","creditText":"ASSOCIATED PRESS—AP2013","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/archive/7183577/at-inaugural-prayer-service-a-glimpse-of-the-pastor-in-chiefs-vision/","name":"At Inaugural Prayer Service, a Glimpse of the Pastor-in-Chief's Vision"}}]}] ```