"We pray especially this night for Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama," Lind said in the invocation. "We give thanks for their willingness to stand before us and offer themselves to serve as our nation's president. We pray that as they debate, they will exhibit the courage of their convictions, hunger for the truth, a vision of compassion, justice for all people, and civility toward one another."

Lind was invited to give the invocation by Michael Schwartz, president of Cleveland State University, where the debate was held.

The university and the cathedral are across the street from one another on Euclid Avenue, Cleveland's main street, and have a long history of collaboration, including the annual autumn President's and Dean's Lectures.

Lind became dean of Trinity Cathedral in 2000. She is also a city planner and author. Her ministry includes work for environmental justice, interfaith relations, sustainable urban planning, arts and culture, and the diversity of the Episcopal Church. She led the development of Trinity Commons, an award-winning, environmentally sustainable campus that is home to Trinity Cathedral, the Diocese of Ohio, and three fair-trade shops.

As dean of Trinity, Lind speaks, teaches and preaches around the country, including at the Chautauqua Institution, the Episcopal College Conference, the National Trust for Historic Preservation, and a variety of churches, conferences, seminaries and theological schools.

She serves as a board member to many non-profit organizations, including the Episcopal Church Publishing Company, Ten Thousand Villages of Cleveland, Hospice and Palliative Health Care Partners of Ohio, Music and Performing Arts at Trinity, and the ACLU. Lind also serves as Greater Cleveland convener of We Believe Ohio, a movement of religious leaders uniting diverse voices of faith for compassion, inclusion and social justice.

In 2004, Lind's first book of photographs and essays, "Interrupted by God," was published by The Pilgrim Press. Her photographs have been exhibited in New York/New Jersey-area juried shows, in the NEO Show of the Cleveland Museum of Art, and in individual exhibits at the Chautauqua Institution, New Communities in Newark, Cleveland State University and number of Episcopal cathedrals.

The full text of Lind's invocation is below.

Shalom, Salaam, Peace be with you. Let us pray.

Gracious and loving God: we call you by many names and come to you by many paths, yet you have brought us together to this time and place. We join our voices in praising you for the majesty and beauty of this land, for the people of our nation, for the state of Ohio and its citizens, and for the city of Cleveland and those who live, work and study here. May we always be mindful stewards of your bountiful creation.

As we come together this evening, we thank you, O God, for the great diversity of our nation and its people who, throughout our history, have embodied the principles and ideals of a democratic society. We pray especially this night for Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. We give thanks for their willingness to stand before us and offer themselves to serve as our nation's president. We pray that as they debate, they will exhibit the courage of their convictions, hunger for the truth, a vision of compassion, justice for all people, and civility toward one another.

And as we, your faithful people, listen, discern and cast our ballots, may we remember that this nation is too important for anything but truth, that this world is too vulnerable for anything but peace, and that your creation is too precious for anything but love.

Amen.