Senior Girls Visit Kansas Statehouse
The subzero temperatures only added to the adventure as the SMA Senior Girls led by Father Patrick Rutledge embarked on their field trip to the Kansas Statehouse the morning of January 30. Father and the students began their day with a guided tour of the Statehouse. Highlights of the tour included visiting both legislative chambers of the House and Senate, and a visit to the ceremonial office of the Kansas Governor. As we viewed notable frescos in the Capitol Rotunda, our tour guide sang historic Kansas songs to us to accompany the sites that we saw. At our tour guide’s request, the students reciprocated by singing the Kansas State song “Home on the Range.”
11:00 am found the students seated in the gallery of the Kansas House of Representative to attend the House’s session. A hush fell over the Representative’s Hall as Father Patrick Rutledge led the Kansas House of Representative in their morning prayers entreating God to enlighten the legislators to make just laws that they might permit their constituents to achieve blessed lives here on earth and in eternity. Father Rutledge closed with the Lord’s Prayer. Father Rutledge was guest chaplain to the Kansas House of Representatives at the request of Representative Francis Awerkamp SMA ’99.
After the session, Father Rutledge blessed the offices of Representative Francis Awerkamp and some of his fellow Catholic legislators. Representative Francis Awerkamp treated the students to lunch followed by a visit to his legislative office where he answered the girls’ questions about the challenges of being a Catholic legislator today.
Mary Brown, SMA ’14 and Legislative Office Assistant for Rep. Awerkamp, showed the girls some additional sites in the statehouse. The girls found the view of the Capitol Rotunda from the Fourth floor balcony of the Statehouse to be stunning. The Senior girls decided to share their joy at the site and to take advantage of the superb acoustics by singing Gustav Holst’s “I Vow to Thee My County.” Many of the legislators and lobbyists, hurrying past on their way back from lunch, paused and listened to the girls’ voices raised in song. The listeners offered the girls an appreciative round of applause.
After lunch, Father Rutledge led the girls in climbing the 296 steps to the top of the Kansas Statehouse Dome. The girls found the panoramic view of Northeast Kansas from the Statehouse Dome was worth the climb.
