Chris Justice – the former anchor at Tegna’s WCNC Charlotte, N.C. who left to become a pastor – will be back on-air Thursday, albeit in the very different capacity of leading the U.S. Senate's opening prayer.
The Charlotte Observer reports that the 90-second address by Justice – the Rev. Justice, that is – will air at 9:30 a.m. on C-SPAN 2. Justice, a Southern Baptist minister in suburban Monroe, will be acting as the Senate’s guest chaplain for the day.
Observer reporter Tim Funk writes that Justice, who spent 12 years at the Charlotte NBC affiliate before leaving in 2008, will open with a reference to God offering “Christ-centered salvation and peace” and end with “We pray to You and praise You in Jesus name.”
“I want to be respectful to other faiths,” Funk reports Justice said, “but I have to be respectful to my Savior. There’s not another way for me to pray but in Jesus’ name.”
