Disciples pastor and journalist James L. Merrell will bring the invocation in the United States Senate in Washington, D.C. on Oct. 15. The invocation opens the daily session of the Senate. Merrell was formerly a vice president at the Christian Board of Publication. He currently serves as pastor at Trinity United Church of Christ in St. Louis, Mo.

Merrell was the last editor of “World Call,” a mission magazine that merged with the opinion journal “The Christian” in 1974, out of which grew “The Disciple” periodical. He was founding editor of The Disciple, where he served for 15 years until 1989, according to the “Encyclopedia of the Stone-Campbell Movement: (Disciples of Christ).” Under Merrell’s guidance, the magazine introduced color to its covers and several technological innovations.