Presidential Inauguration

Ever since President Franklin Roosevelt attended a service at St. John Episcopal Church the morning of his presidential inauguration in 1933, president-elects have attended religious services before taking the oath of office. The only apparent exception to this was the second inauguration of Richard Nixon. He did, however, attend church services the next day. Of the ten presidents since Roosevelt, four of them also attended services at St John's: Harry Truman, Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush, and George W. Bush. The other services attended were:

• Dwight Eisenhower – National Presbyterian Church
• John F. Kennedy – Holy Trinity Church
• Lyndon Johnson – National City Christian Church
• Richard Nixon – Prayer Breakfast at the State Department
• Jimmy Carter – Interfaith Prayer Service at the Lincoln Memorial
• Bill Clinton – Metropolitan AME Church