Barry Black Rear Admiral Barry C . Black , USN ( Ret . ) ( born November 1 , 1948 ) is the 62nd Chaplain of the United States Senate . He was elected to this position on June 27 , 2003 , becoming the first African American and the first Seventh - day Adventist to hold this office . The Senate elected its first chaplain in 1789 . He served for over 27 years as a chaplain in the United States Navy , rising to the rank of rear admiral and ending his career as the Chief of Chaplains of the United States Navy , the senior chaplain of the United States Navy Chaplain Corps . He officially retired from the Navy on August 15 , 2003 . Naval career . Commissioned as a Navy chaplain in 1976 , Black ’ s first duty station was the Fleet Religious Support Activity in Norfolk , Virginia . Subsequent assignments included Naval Support Activity , Philadelphia , Pennsylvania ; U . S . Naval Academy , Annapolis , Maryland ; First Marine Aircraft Wing , Okinawa , Japan ; Naval Training Center , San Diego , California ; USS Belleau Wood ( LHA - 3 ) , Long Beach , California ; Naval Chaplains School Advanced Course , Newport , Rhode Island ; Marine Aircraft Group Thirty - One , Beaufort , South Carolina ; assistant staff chaplain , Chief of Naval Education and Training , Pensacola , Florida ; and fleet chaplain , U . S . Atlantic Fleet , Norfolk , Virginia . As a rear admiral , his personal decorations included the Navy Distinguished Service Medal , the Legion of Merit Medal , twice awarded the Defense Meritorious Service Medal , twice awarded the Meritorious Service Medal , and twice received the Navy Commendation Medal , and the Marine Corps Commendation Medal , and numerous unit awards , campaign , and service medals . United States Senate Chaplain . On June 27 , 2003 , Black was elected the 62nd Chaplain of the United States Senate . He began working in the Senate on July 7 , 2003 . During the 16 day United States federal government shutdown of 2013 , his invocations began to garner widespread national attention . On Oct . 1 , the first day of the shutdown , he prayed for divine guidance to , “ strengthen our weakness , replacing cynicism with faith and cowardice with courage . ” On Oct . 3 , he prayed , “ Save us from the madness . We acknowledge our transgressions , our shortcomings , our smugness , our selfishness and our pride . . . Deliver us from the hypocrisy of attempting to sound reasonable while being unreasonable . ” During his prayer , on Oct . 4 , 2013 , the day after officers from the U . S . Capitol Police shot and killed a woman who had used her car in an attempt to breach federal grounds , Black noted that the officers were not being paid because of the government shutdown . Like other government workers , he too is unpaid during the shutdown , stating , “ I ’ m being remunerated from above . And that ’ s pretty special . ” On the fourth day of the shutdown , he also prayed , regarding the senators , “ Remove from them that stubborn pride which imagines itself to be above and beyond criticism , ” he said . “ Forgive them the blunders they have committed . ” On day nine , prompted by news of the delay of death benefits for military families , Black prayed , “ It ’ s time for our lawmakers to say ‘ Enough is enough ' ” , and asked that God , “ cover our shame with the robe of Your righteousness . ” On day eleven , Black prayed to , “ give our lawmakers the wisdom to distinguish between truth and error . . . Give them a hatred of all hypocrisy , deceit and shame as they seek to replace them with gentleness , patience and truth , ” he prayed . The U . S . House of Representatives , which has its own chaplain , also invited him to deliver an invocation in their Chamber . Awards . In 1995 , Black was chosen from 127 nominees for the NAACP Renowned Service Award , for his contributions to equal opportunity and civil rights . In 2002 , he received the Benjamin Elijah Mays Distinguished Leadership Award from the Morehouse School of Religion . In 2004 , the Old Dominion University chapter of the NAACP conferred on him the Image Award , " " Reaffirming the Dream - Realizing the Vision " " , for military excellence . Education . Black has an extensive educational background . He is an alumnus of Oakwood University , Andrews University , North Carolina Central University , Eastern Baptist Seminary , now known as Palmer Theological Seminary , Salve Regina University and the United States International University , now known as Alliant International University . In addition to earning separate Master of Arts degrees in divinity , counseling , and management , he also holds two earned doctorates : a Doctor of Ministry and a Ph . D . in psychology . Publication . His autobiography , entitled " " From the Hood to the Hill , " " was published in 2006 . He has explained it ' s title as follows : " One of the reasons why I call my book " ” From the Hood to the Hill ” " is because we grew up in the hood . We grew up in the toxic pathology of an inner city ghetto . There were prostitutes on the corner , there were drug pushers , there was domestic violence that you could see sitting on the steps of your – of your home . So , it was a very challenging situation . And my mother , who for a significant portion of my life was on public assistance , would often have difficulty paying the rent and ensuring that her children matriculated at Christian schools because my seven siblings and I all matriculated at Christian schools from grade 1 all the way through graduate school . So , to pull this off , many times she couldn ’ t pay the rent , and when you don ’ t pay the rent , you will be evicted . And so , three times in my life , I came home from my nice Christian school to find our furniture out on the street . " Popular Culture . As a result of the attention from his invocations during the federal government shutdown , Black has been parodied on NBC ' s " " Saturday Night Live . " " Playing Black during the show ' s , " " Weekend Update " " segment that aired on October 12 , SNL cast member , Kenan Thompson prayed , " Lord , bless and forgive these braying jackasses . " Thompson ' s Black prayed , " May they find themselves in a restroom stall devoid of toilet paper . " When approached for a reaction , Black responded that , while he had not seen it , he was a fan of the show and did not object to the parody . " It ' s all in good humor , " he said . " If you ' re doing something constructive enough that you ' re part of their cartoons , that ' s a great honor . " Personal life . Black is a native of Baltimore , Maryland . His mother was a domestic and his father was a long distance truck driver " and something of a nomad . " He is one of eight children . He is married to Brenda Black , née Pearsall , of St . Petersburg , Florida . They have three sons : Barry II , Brendan , and Bradford . Black is a vegetarian . He has said , " that is not something that is a test of fellowship in my church . I ’ m a vegetarian because I grew up that way and I believe it ’ s a – it ’ s a rather healthy lifestyle . "