By Kami Nguyen

Town Crier Editorial Intern

Following the fire at the Antiochian Orthodox Church of the Redeemer that occurred on April 7, Congresswoman Anna G. Eshoo, who represents Los Altos in the 14th district, invited Father Samer Youssef to deliver the opening prayers before the House of Representatives in Washington last week.

The opening prayer is a tradition in Congress, said communications director Barbara Feinstien.

“Members are allowed to invite a member of the clergy to pray in the morning to signal an official opening for legislative business,” she said.

The delivery of the prayer was broadcasted live on C-SPAN last Wednesday, followed by a minute-long speech by Eshoo.

Eshoo said she invited Youssef after speaking with him at church, seeing the destruction of the fire and hearing about the impact that Youssef’s actions had within the community.

“He is a very special leader,” Eshoo said. “He has a distinguished kind of leadership in the face of real tragedy.”

Youssef said that following the fire, Eshoo became very involved and began “calling and taking care of the community in her district. (Eshoo) saw how we dealt with this … catastrophe in a place of worship … We took it and turned it into a positive thing for the community. We took the pain in the community to build a new relationship (within it).”

Youssef said the prayer he gave on Wednesday was inspired by what he first found when sifting through the ashes at the church.

The passage he found gave him the inspiration of “turning the other cheek” and he felt it was a special message to him as well as “important for all the world to hear.”

“This doesn’t meant to let the criminals be set free,” he said. “The government has the right to punish the criminals.” But, he said, “evil cannot be overcome except from good.”

Eshoo said she is proud to see the community pull together in a time of crisis, breaking down the barriers of religious beliefs and practices. “It is an important example of how great we are,” she said. “Someone did the worst and Father Youssef exemplified the best.”