Rev. J. Andrew Daugherty Presides as Chaplain to the Colorado House of Representatives
February 27, 2026
Read Andrew's full remarks and invocation below:
Good morning, esteemed legislators, dedicated staff, and honored guests.
Thank you, Madam Speaker McCluskie, and to a respected friend of my congregation in Boulder, Representative Junie Joseph, for the privilege of addressing this chamber on this final workday of Black History Month.
As February closes, I'm reminded that history isn't just something we commemorate. It's something we're making right now, under this Gold Dome. And the question before us is always: What kind of history are we writing?
You have the kind of to-do list that makes most of us feel better about ours. Questions about how AI should interact with our children. Questions about whether surveillance technology serves justice or threatens it. Questions about protecting the most vulnerable—children seeking name changes, communities facing federal overreach, families wondering if data centers will raise their property taxes while corporations get breaks.
These aren't just matters of policy. They're theological questions dressed in legislative language. Because they ask: Who is my neighbor? What does it mean to seek the welfare of the city? How do we protect the least of these?
On this last day of Black History Month, I think of Fannie Lou Hamer, who said, "Nobody's free until everybody's free." The important work you do every day here is the continuation of that freedom struggle.
The prophet Jeremiah's ancient wisdom still sings: "Seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you, and pray on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare." Not my welfare at the expense of your welfare. Not our tribe's welfare while others suffer. But a mature mutuality that knows: We rise or fall together.
With every bill you draft and every vote you cast and every law you make: You're answering the question that every generation must answer: Will we expand the circle of human flourishing, or will we contract it? And so we pray:
Prayer
God of Justice, God of Mercy, God of the Impossible Made Possible,
We gather under this Gold Dome on the final workday of Black History Month, grateful for the cloud of witnesses who taught us that the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice—if we do the bending.
Bless these legislators as they navigate the intersection of AI technology and our children. Give them wisdom to remember that behind every algorithm is a child made in Your image.
Guide them as they wrestle with questions of surveillance and safety. Help them remember that cameras and data collection can never substitute for the harder work of building trust, investing in communities, and addressing root causes. Amid shrinking budgets and painful trade-offs, give them grace to choose what is right over what is easy, and justice over whatever merely balances the books. And may they never balance budgets on the backs of those who can least afford it.
Strengthen their resolve as they work for the safety of all our children who simply want to be known as they truly are. In a nation increasingly hostile to difference, make Colorado a sanctuary of dignity.
Embolden them as they consider insulating this state from policies that would diminish anyone's humanity.
In this season of social upheaval and national division, grant this chamber what the nation desperately needs: unity without uniformity, cooperation without capitulation. Where partisan tribalism and intraparty fights would divide, give them the moral clarity to see that some things are not about left and right, but about right and wrong. Where bickering and belligerence have become the norm, breathe into this space serenity and peace. Replace the desire to win with the desire to do the next right thing.
Give them common sense for the common good. Protect Colorado's autonomy from authoritarian impulses that would degrade our democracy and diminish our dignity.
God, we remember today the words of Ella Baker: "Give light and people will find the way." Under this Gold Dome, may these servants of the people be light-bearers—illuminating paths toward justice, equity, and the common good. For as Dr. King reminded us, "The time is always right to do what is right."
10,000 blessings be upon this chamber today and every day with the wisdom to protect the vulnerable, not the powerful. With the vision to see that in seeking the welfare of all who call Colorado home, we find our own welfare.
May they leave this place today having moved the needle toward that more perfect union, that beloved community, that kingdom of justice and mercy we all long for.
In the name of the One who makes all things new, who tears down walls and builds up the broken-hearted, who reminds us that what we do to the least of these, we do to Christ himself. Amen.
Good morning, esteemed legislators, dedicated staff, and honored guests.
Thank you, Madam Speaker McCluskie, and to a respected friend of my congregation in Boulder, Representative Junie Joseph, for the privilege of addressing this chamber on this final workday of Black History Month.
As February closes, I'm reminded that history isn't just something we commemorate. It's something we're making right now, under this Gold Dome. And the question before us is always: What kind of history are we writing?
You have the kind of to-do list that makes most of us feel better about ours. Questions about how AI should interact with our children. Questions about whether surveillance technology serves justice or threatens it. Questions about protecting the most vulnerable—children seeking name changes, communities facing federal overreach, families wondering if data centers will raise their property taxes while corporations get breaks.
These aren't just matters of policy. They're theological questions dressed in legislative language. Because they ask: Who is my neighbor? What does it mean to seek the welfare of the city? How do we protect the least of these?
On this last day of Black History Month, I think of Fannie Lou Hamer, who said, "Nobody's free until everybody's free." The important work you do every day here is the continuation of that freedom struggle.
The prophet Jeremiah's ancient wisdom still sings: "Seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you, and pray on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare." Not my welfare at the expense of your welfare. Not our tribe's welfare while others suffer. But a mature mutuality that knows: We rise or fall together.
With every bill you draft and every vote you cast and every law you make: You're answering the question that every generation must answer: Will we expand the circle of human flourishing, or will we contract it? And so we pray:
Prayer
God of Justice, God of Mercy, God of the Impossible Made Possible,
We gather under this Gold Dome on the final workday of Black History Month, grateful for the cloud of witnesses who taught us that the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice—if we do the bending.
Bless these legislators as they navigate the intersection of AI technology and our children. Give them wisdom to remember that behind every algorithm is a child made in Your image.
Guide them as they wrestle with questions of surveillance and safety. Help them remember that cameras and data collection can never substitute for the harder work of building trust, investing in communities, and addressing root causes. Amid shrinking budgets and painful trade-offs, give them grace to choose what is right over what is easy, and justice over whatever merely balances the books. And may they never balance budgets on the backs of those who can least afford it.
Strengthen their resolve as they work for the safety of all our children who simply want to be known as they truly are. In a nation increasingly hostile to difference, make Colorado a sanctuary of dignity.
Embolden them as they consider insulating this state from policies that would diminish anyone's humanity.
In this season of social upheaval and national division, grant this chamber what the nation desperately needs: unity without uniformity, cooperation without capitulation. Where partisan tribalism and intraparty fights would divide, give them the moral clarity to see that some things are not about left and right, but about right and wrong. Where bickering and belligerence have become the norm, breathe into this space serenity and peace. Replace the desire to win with the desire to do the next right thing.
Give them common sense for the common good. Protect Colorado's autonomy from authoritarian impulses that would degrade our democracy and diminish our dignity.
God, we remember today the words of Ella Baker: "Give light and people will find the way." Under this Gold Dome, may these servants of the people be light-bearers—illuminating paths toward justice, equity, and the common good. For as Dr. King reminded us, "The time is always right to do what is right."
10,000 blessings be upon this chamber today and every day with the wisdom to protect the vulnerable, not the powerful. With the vision to see that in seeking the welfare of all who call Colorado home, we find our own welfare.
May they leave this place today having moved the needle toward that more perfect union, that beloved community, that kingdom of justice and mercy we all long for.
In the name of the One who makes all things new, who tears down walls and builds up the broken-hearted, who reminds us that what we do to the least of these, we do to Christ himself. Amen.
