On 1/3/2021, Missouri Rep. Emanuel Cleaver ended a prayer with the phrase "Amen and Awoman."  While Mr. Cleaver's intentions were to applaud the number of women serving in Congress, his manner of doing so was hurtful to many people of religious faith and demonstrates poor judgement  and insensitivity on his part.

Rep. Cleaver would have accomplished his goal appropriately by mentioning in his prayer that he is thankful for the presence of women in Congress, without altering the traditional end of prayer with the word "Amen."

In the interest of helping our country avoid the conflict this incident has caused, we ask that Rep. Cleaver apologize for the poor judgement he exercised by adding "Awoman" to the end of his prayer on the floor of the United States House of Representatives.

We are prepared to forgive and move on should Mr. Cleaver apologize.