I am thankful that Cathleen Falsani’s blog post included the text of the prayer given by Bishop Eugene Robinson at the beginning of the Sunday “We Are One” concert. Even though friends and I arrived at the Lincoln Memorial and stood as close as the crowds and security would allow, we were no different than the millions who tuned in on HBO. We couldn’t hear it, either.

When Bishop Robinson stood at the podium to give his remarks 10 minutes before the official start time of 2:30 p.m., there was barely any audio coming from the giant speakers which lined the reflecting pool. We couldn’t tell if he was just rehearsing, as many had done throughout the morning and afternoon, or if he was actually praying. The crowd was stirring and began to chant “We Can’t Hear!” and “Turn It Up!” We could see his face on screen, but no words accompanied the image. As you can see in the text of the prayer, it was long, and the audio kicked in when he prayed, “And please, God, keep him safe…” in the very last paragraph.

After the prayer, crackling static and the classic “HBO Presents” introduction signaled the start of the “official” concert. Cheers erupted, and the audio was apparently working just fine.

Unless you were lucky enough to be one of the couple hundred attendees in the VIP section, you didn’t hear the prayer. I’m guessing PIC spokesman Josh Earnest, who claimed satisfaction that hundreds of thousands of attendees heard the prayer despite the “error in executing” their plan to broadcast the invocation, was able to hear and see pretty well.

Robinson’s prayer wasn’t aired on television and wasn’t audible to much of the crowd at one of the most star-studded and historically significant events of our generation. I hope his presence won’t be completely forgotten in the historical record, because as his words reminded us, we have a long way to go to say with integrity that “We Are One.”

Allison Johnson is the campaign coordinator for Christians for Comprehensive Immigration Reform (CCIR).