appear to be in good health but it is early to tell. they may be across the border into israel now, i am not certain. thank you. >> any concerns about hamas regrouping? >> will you remain involved in the deal? pres. >> president biden visited royal missionary baptist church in north charleston south carolina. he spoke about the civil rights activism of his youth and his legacy as president. biden who has done great things for this country. [applause] pres. biden: hello hello hello.

four i began -- before i begin, let my tell you what i told jim about 20 minutes ago. my state, delaware, whose great shame was -- fought on the wrong side. my state was segregated by law. just couldn't figure out how to get inside the south because it was cut off. all kidding aside.

i used to -- when i got engaged, i love reading biographies that say they knew they were going to run for president. the truth of the matter was, i'm a kid who -- talk about impediments, i used to stutter. came from a steel town that went bankrupt. scranton, pennsylvania, things didn't work out because of the economy. you know what? every time i spent time in a black church, i would think of one thing, the word hope. [applause] not a joke. pastor, thank you for allowing

me to be back. senator, thank you for that introduction, i appreciate it. you made a really moving sermon, and thank you for the congregation of the rural missionary baptist church, to welcome me back to charleston to worship with you. i prayed with you here in february of 2020 one i was running for president. on my final full day as president, of all the places i wanted to be, it was back here with you. [applause] i first got involved in public life, because of the civil rights movement. i was having 7:30 mass at my church and then i would go to the ame church in delaware, a black church. the spiritual home of the black experience, that helped redeem

the soul of a nation. that is the truth we honor on the weekend we celebrate one of the political heroes, dr. martin luther king. i have two busts in my office i can see from my desk. i had two heroes growing up. dr. king and bobby kennedy. [applause] on sundays, we often reflect on resurrection and redemption. remember, jesus was buried on a friday and he rose on a sunday. we don't talk enough about saturday. when his disciples felt all hope was lost. our lives and the lives of the nation, we have those saturdays. to bear witness to the day before glory and some people's

pain, our own pain, they can't look away, but the work we do on saturday is going to determine whether we move on with pain or purpose. how can faith get a person, a nation through what is to come? my faith has taught me, the scripture says as iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another person. that is what faith and friendship has taught me. friends in south carolina like jim clyburn, i would not be standing here in this pulpit if not for jim clyburn. [applause] although somewhat presumptuous of me, neither of us would be standing here without emily who

we all missed dearly, and made jim endorse me. [laughter] south carolina friends, who believed in me when i got through one of the most difficult times in my life. i got a call saying my wife and daughter were dead and my boys were not likely to live. so many friends in south carolina, they've always been there for me, especially on those saturdays when i felt all hope was gone. those days, i bury a piece of my soul. my wife, my daughter, my attorney general. it felt like a black hole in my chest, sucking me into it. anger, the rage that i felt.

but then friends, your friends bear witness, they see your pain, they pick you up, they help you get to sunday. from pain to purpose. i felt that faith and friendship when i played with -- prayed with this congregation. i went there and trying to confront them on my own saturday -- tried to confront them on my own saturday but it was they that comforted me. we arrived together and found grace together. moved from pain to purpose. the service of others. to love the lord, thy god with

all thy heart and soul, and love thy neighbor as thyself. it is very easy to say but very hard to do. but those words are the essence of the gospel. the essence of the american promise. the idea that we are all created equal in the image of god and deserve to be treated equally throughout our lives. my dad used to say the greatest abuse of all -- the greatest sin of all is the abuse of power. we've never fully lived up to that commitment that we've never walked away from it either because of you and your ancestors before us. who followed the light of the northstar even in darkness. after the service i will be visiting the international african-american museum. it captures the ongoing story of redemption. i will tour the exhibits and

speak about the power of history, to make the -- to make real the promise of america for all americans but this morning i want to talk about the essential piece of redemption, the power of mercy and justice. with experience, wisdom, conscious, compassion and science, we know how healing and restoration from harm is the pathway to the kind of communities we want to live in, where there is fairness, justice, accountability of the system. when the people we love go through hard times, fall down, make mistakes, we are there to help them get back up. we don't turn on each other. we lean into each other. that is the sacred covenant of our nation. we pledge allegiance not just to an idea but to each other. that is who we are pledging allegiance to.

that is how i viewed my decision to issue more individual pardons or commutations than any president in history. to inspire. ending the federal death penalty by commuting those sentences. sentences of individuals serving disproportionately long or hard sentences for nonviolent drug offenses compared to what they would receive today for committing that crime. to show mercy for individuals who did their time or a significant amount of time and have shown significant remorse and rehabilitation. to understand that supervision after release is critical to provide accountability and support. it serves neither the interest

of the person nor the public. these decisions are difficult. some have never been done before. but in my experience, i believe taking together, justice and mercy, it requires as a nation to bear witness, to see people's pain, not to look away and do the work, to move pain to purpose. to show we can give a person, a nation, a day of redemption. we know the struggle to redeeming the soul of this nation is difficult and ongoing. but faith teaches us the america of our dreams is always closer than we think. that is the faith we must hold on to, for the saturdays to come. we must hold onto the hope. we must stay engaged.

we must always keep the faith in a better day to come. i'm not going anywhere. [cheers and applause] i'm not kidding. the people of south carolina, thank you for keeping the faith. it's been the honor of my life to serve as your president. the highest honor for jill and our family, as i close out this journey with you, i'm just as passionate about our work as i was as a 29-year-old kid when i got elected and wasn't old enough to serve yet. i am in no ways tired. i've always heard before, we've come too far from where we've

started. nobody told me the road would be easy. i don't believe you brought me this far to leave me. my fellow americans, i don't think the good lord brought us this far to leave us behind. as we celebrate dr. king's legacy, and generations before us since, women and men, enslaved and freed, let us remember, precious lord, take my hand through the storm, through the night, and lead me into the light. god bless you all, and may god protect our troops. as they say where i come from, you are the guys that brought me to the dance. thank you thank you thank you. [cheers and applause]

>> if you were a mayor right >> i do solemnly swear that i will faithfully execute the office of president of the united states and will to the best of my ability to preserve and defend the constitution of the united states so help me god.

watch inauguration coverage including historic swearing in. c-span1, democracy unfiltered. >> u.s. senate returns on monday to vote on fin pas of the act allowing immigrants to be detained for violent crimes after a student was killed last year. confirmation on shrubs capex a then inaugural ceremonies for ident trump. later in the week wildfire evention following recent