From Sept. 5 to Oct. 26, 1774, the First Continental Congress met at Philadelphia’s Carpenters’ Hall to plan next steps as America raced towards independence from Britain. Two days into the affair, Rev. Jacob Duché, representing the nearby Christ Church, took to the lectern to lead attendees in prayer, setting a precedent that continues today.

Since then, there have been 122 official congressional chaplains, a position that includes a salary, office and staff. All have been Christian, but over 600 rabbis have served as guest chaplains, performing prayers applicable to the moment they are in.

This week, Carpenters’ Hall celebrates the 250th Anniversary of the First Continental Congress, focusing on the role of prayer and religion in American government. It will hold a panel tomorrow, titled “The Best and Surest Foundation?” with nine faith leaders, seven of whom are Christian, one who is Muslim and one who is Jewish. On Saturday, there will be a public recitation of Duché’s inaugural prayer.

“We’re at a moment in our country where we are revisiting the founding principles and values of our democracy, and the role of faith and religion goes to the heart of that,” Michael Norris, executive director of Carpenters’ Hall, told eJewishPhilanthropy.

The panel, with leaders chosen from historic Philadelphia congregations, had to be interfaith, Norris said. Its breakdown is representative of the demographics of religious leaders who have led prayers before Congress, with Christians predominantly represented.

“It’s certainly notable that since our nation’s founding the person responsible for prayer in Congress has been someone of a Christian derivation,” Josh Perelman, senior advisor for content and strategic projects at the Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History, located blocks from Carpenters’ Hall, told eJP. But at the same time, he continued, it’s important to note that America has offered “a legalization of religious liberty in this country that was an unprecedented innovation for its time.”

For Jews, America “has been the most free society they could live in in modern times, until the birth of the State of Israel,” he said. Holding prayer before Congress caused much debate by attendees, and as America established rules to protect religious diversity, Europe became increasingly ghettoized. In 1791, the year the First Amendment was ratified, protecting freedom of speech and religion, the Pale of Settlement was established.

It’s an honor to represent Jews on the panel, Rabbi Nathan Kamesar, of Philadelphia’s independent Society Hill Synagogue, told eJP. “I’ll aim to speak from that place of humility that mine is not the singular Jewish perspective.”

The goal for prayers before Congress is to hold space for everyone, including the nonreligious, without “being coercive or exclusionary,” he said. “For many people, our religious or spiritual life is the grounding for how we bring a sense of conscience into public life… We don’t want to exclude religion and the inspiration that comes from it from public life, assuming that we recognize that our public policies and how we treat religion should be in furtherance of all peoples, and that no one religious voice has a monopoly on truth. It’s a delicate balance.”

The event is held in partnership with the Dialogue Institute, which advances interreligious and intercultural scholarship, understanding dialogue, and grassroots cooperation. David Krueger, its executive director, is leading the conversation.

Having guest chaplains is “a great message against the Establishment Clause that there’s no official religion established,” Howard Mortman, author of When Rabbis Bless Congress, told eJP. Guest chaplains occur when the official chaplain has another commitment or when Congress wants to highlight diversity. The most common way to be asked to lead prayers is to sow relationships with local politicians. Chaplains have included Sikhs, Muslims, Hindus, Indigenous Americans, Hawaiian priests, among others.

Guest chaplains began appearing in the 1850s, and by 1860, there was a Jewish guest chaplain, Swedish-born Rabbi Morris Raphall, who prayed for unity as the Civil War loomed close. “You can either say, like, why did it take so long [to get a Jewish chaplain],” Mortman said. “Or, my goodness, that was really fast.”

Since then, rabbis have prayed during times of war and peace. On the eve of D-Day, Rabbi Solomon Metz prayed, “O Lord of Hosts and Father of mercy, grant us a speedy and decisive victory.” Jewish immigrants prayed over immigration policy, and rabbis who survived the camps led prayers in their new homeland.

The makeup of guest rabbis is nearly equally split between the Orthodox, Reform and Conservative movements. The first female rabbi to appear was Rabbi Sally Priesand, America’s first female ordained rabbi, who offered the opening prayer in the House of Representatives in 1973, a year after her ordination. Since then, nearly two dozen female rabbis have served as guest chaplains.

While many Christian chaplains invoke Jesus in their prayers, rabbis speak broadly, creating original prayers that connect with all.

Panels like this are important so the Jewish history of chaplaincy isn’t forgotten, Mortman said. “It’s part of the tapestry of Jewish American history.”

A discussion about faith and politics can get “really heated,” Norris said, but that’s exactly why they are hosting this conversation. “The goal is to engage and educate folks about this historic moment, but then to also use that as a reflection point for each person who comes to think about their own relationship with faith and how they view that in the context of their role as a citizen.”

Even though there have only been Christian official chaplains, things are changing, Mortman said. For the first time in history, there is a female House chaplain and a Black Senate chaplain. “Where’s the future? The future probably is more diverse. Diversity of demographics, diversity of thought, diversity of religious messaging.”