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INVOCATION
Invocation by Rev. Kim Council, Deputy Brooklyn Borough President, Brooklyn Borough President's Office
0:09:42
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147 sec
Rev. Kim Council delivered an invocation expressing gratitude for New York City's diversity and leadership. She prayed for strength, unity, and compassion among city leaders and residents, emphasizing the importance of justice, peace, and humble service. The invocation concluded with a specific blessing for Speaker Adrienne Adams and all council members.
Rev. Kim Council
0:09:42
Let us pray.
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Oh, God, our help in ages past, our hope for years to come, our shelter from the stormy blast in our eternal home.
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We thank you for the many ways in which you have blessed us, and we thank you for preserving our lives and allowing us to be in this space today.
0:09:57
We have gathered from every neighborhood across this city in the most splendid place that we call home, a place full of diversity and wonder, full of hope and dreams where the challenges are great but the possibilities are endless.
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Today, we are grateful.
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Grateful for the mosaic of cultures that blend together to create a tapestry like no other in the world like no other place in the world.
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Grateful for leaders like our speaker and every city council member who and and their staff who bring their lived experience to their styles of leadership.
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We're not afraid to speak truth to power and stand up to the nation, the state, and lead our city with both grit and grace.
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We're grateful for every man, woman, boy, and girl, and non binary being who by birth or by choice have made New York City their own.
0:10:39
We are ever mindful that every day there are systems at work that seeks to undermine this beautiful city.
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That there are people who seek to divide and conquer, that there are that our problems often seem insurmountable, and that there are times when we feel the only way to be heard is to be the loudest person in the room and rage against the machine.
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Times when we feel disconnected and helpless, and as we look out over this world that you have created, it is often hard to reconcile man's inhumanity to man.
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In those times, let us remember that we are not alone, that you are with us, and that just that it is dark as just before dawn, that there is hope even when we feel hopeless.
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Strengthen and guide us in the days to come and help us to build bridges and repair relationships.
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Help us to to understand that our true strength is revealed when we show love and compassion for one another.
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Help us all to understand that justice and peace go hand in hand.
0:11:25
And so today, as we sit here focused on all the great work that has been done and the plans that lay ahead, let us continue in a spirit of gratitude for each and every individual under the sound of my voice.
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For those in elective office who carry the burden of leadership, let them never forget the reason that they are in the positions that they hold.
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For every individual here, I know that you are a god that provides.
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So whatever people stand in need of, I ask that you grant.
0:11:47
I lift up a mother and a grandmother named Adrian who has for years fought for the least of these.
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Continue to lead and guide her as she seeks to lead this council in this city.
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Thank you for leaders who are not focused on what is popular or politic, but what is right.
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I ask that you give us all the courage to act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with you.
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It is in the name of the almighty God that I pray.
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Amen.
0:12:08
Thank