The service, which Trump's campaign invited several reporters to observe, included hymns, readings and a performance by the children's choir. Cream-colored stained glass in the window cast a golden glow.
At one point, Trump shared a prayer book with Debra Whitaker, an Iowa supporter seated to his right. She put her hand gently around Trump's waist as the congregation sang Hymn 409, "God is Here!" Trump could be seen by some mouthing along.
At one point, as church-goers offered each other wishes of peace, Trump received warm greetings from those around him.
When it was time to offer tithes, Trump was seen digging into his pants' pocket. Two folded $50 bills were later spotted in a collection plate that was passed down his pew.
One reading during the service, about the importance of humility, included a reference that caught Trump's ear.
"Can you imagine eye telling hand, 'Get lost, I don't need you' or hearing the head telling the foot, 'You're fired, your job has been phased out?'" the reader said. "You're fired!" was Trump's signature catchphrase when he hosted "The Apprentice" television show.
"I heard that," Trump later said, when asked about the reference. "I wondered if that was for me. They didn't even know I was coming, so I doubt it. But it's an appropriate phrase."
In her sermon, the pastor, the Rev. Dr. Pamela Saturnia, also made several references with resonance for the 2016 race.
"Jesus is teaching us today that he has come for those who are outside of the church," she said, preaching a message of healing and acceptance for "those who are the most unloved, the most discriminated against, the most forgotten in our community and in our world."
Among those she cited were "the Syrian refugees" and "the Mexican migrants." Trump has advocated barring all Syrian refugees from entering the country because of potential security risks and deporting all of the estimated 11 million people living in the United States illegally. He's said he wants to create a safe zone for refugees instead.
He was for the “DREAMers” and the Syrian refugees before the polical winds blew the weathervane candidate in the opposite direction.
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Truly sad when a man goes to church just for the appearances of it.
This is so ‘Obama’ I just can’t believe he did it.
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