Prayers, applause for Obama

Prayers for President Barack Obama and Americans offered by a diverse group that included a rabbi, a Muslim woman, a Zen Buddhist, a Hindu leader and an ordained African-American minister moved more than 300 people at St. Paul's Episcopal Church yesterday.

The downtown interfaith service on Inauguration Day attracted a diverse audience who listened to faith leaders -- some speaking in different languages -- briefly pray about a specific topic.

"This morning, we ask for your continuing favor on this land," said Chief Kenneth Adams of the Upper Mattaponi, who prayed for the United States.

Praying for Richmond, the Rev. Antonio Marques of Iglesia de la Comunidad Evangelica spoke in Spanish.

The Rev. D. Wallace Adams-Riley of St. Paul's Episcopal Church prayed for Obama.

"You know better than we do the demands that will be placed upon him. We pray, dear God, that you grant him everything he needs, so that he can be everything our country and the world needs him to be," Adams-Riley said. "Fill him with the love of truth and righteousness and grant him wisdom and strength so that under his leadership we . . . may become everything you, God, call us to be."

Others offering prayers were Rabbi Ben Romer of Congregation Or Ami; Kevin Heffernan, Zen campus minister at the University of Richmond; T.K. Somanath of the Hindu Center of Virginia; Jessica Lee of the Virginia Muslim Coalition; and the Rev. Dr. Yvonne Jones Bibbs of Sixth Baptist Church.

"This was a turning point in our history," said Imad Damaj, president of the Virginia Muslim Coalition. "The service we had was so awesome because it was so inclusive and it represented who we are in the United States."

Robert Allen of Richmond found the church appropriate.

"What better place to have this service than in the parish church of Robert E. Lee and Jefferson Davis," said Allen, who watched Obama take the presidential oath on a large screen in the parish hall after the service.

Allen said early yesterday that he chatted with friends about the need for plenty of tissues to wipe tears of joy.

"Just imagine what it's like for black people," he said they told one another.

Chairs were added to accommodate a crowd that grew to standing room as onlookers waited for the historic swearing-in ceremony.

The audience cheered at the first Obama sighting on television.

"Oh yeah, baby!" a man shouted when Obama was introduced.

But as Obama spoke, silence engulfed the hall.

People hugged and clapped after he spoke.

"I grew up with discrimination," said an emotional Deborah Simms of Richmond. Obama becoming president "gave me a sense of accomplishment that a goal had been reached. It lifted up a heavy burden off the African-American race.

"Finally, everyone is beginning to see the light. Barack represents that light."