A vice chairman of the Democrats’ convention platform committee will deliver the keynote address at this month’s Congressional Black Caucus prayer breakfast.
The Rev. Cynthia Hale, senior pastor of Ray of Hope Christian Church in Decatur, Georgia, served as a platform vice chair on the Democratic National Committee Convention held in Philadelphia in July, when Hillary Clinton was nominated.
Ms. Hale is no stranger to the intersection of politics and the public square. Within a few months of Barack Obama’s entrance into 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, she was appointed a member of the President’s Commission on White House Fellowships. And in 2015, after Mrs. Clinton had announced her second run for the presidency, Ms. Hale led a prayer circle in Atlanta on her behalf.
Michael Eric Dyson, a prolific progenitor of black America, provided the audio and the visual of the pastoral event for New Republic. “Clinton stood in a prayer circle with a coterie of black ministers” led by the “tall, strikingly beautiful.”
He then quoted Ms. Hale: “You knew before the foundation of the world that Secretary Hillary Clinton would be in this place. In your providence, God, you have positioned her to be elevated. And we agree with that, oh God. So we’ve come to hold hands, to direct our thoughts and prayers towards her so that she might have strength for the battle. Thank you God, for her own intellect, her abilities, her integrity, her heart, her compassion for people. And for the ability that she has to run a nation.”
A native of Roanoke, Virginia, Ms. Hale is founding pastor of Ray of Hope, which began as a Bible study group more than three decades ago. Today, she is an international faith leader.
“It is my honor to share a message of hope, of perseverance, and of triumph,” she said in a statement about the Sept. 17 gathering, where the usual suspects will break bread in honor of Mrs. Clinton.
• Deborah Simmons can be reached at dsimmons@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.