[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 31 (Wednesday, March 12, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E450]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  RECOGNITION OF THE AMERICAN JEWISH COMMITTEE FOR THEIR SIGNIFICANT 
        DONATION TO THE GAY'S HILL BAPTIST CHURCH IN MILLEN, GA

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. JACK KINGSTON

                               of georgia

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, March 12, 1997

  Mr. KINGSTON. Mr. Speaker, in response to the malicious burning of 
the Gay's Hill Baptist Church in Millen, GA, the American Jewish 
Committee presented a donation of more than $87,000 to the church's 
congregants for reconstruction on December 15, 1996. The remarks that 
David A. Harris, the executive director of the American Jewish 
Committee, gave at the presentation were especially inspirational and 
carried the message of racial healing. Mr. Harris' apt remarks follow:

           Gay's Hill Baptist Church Groundbreaking Ceremony

  (By David A. Harris, Executive Director, American Jewish Committee)

       Reverend Baldwin, Ladies and Gentlemen, Brothers and 
     Sisters, Perhaps they're out there right now, maybe hiding 
     behind that tree, or over in that field, or behind that car. 
     I'm speaking of those who would commit such an act as burning 
     a church. Maybe they're out there right now, watching us. I 
     hope so.
       Perhaps they thought they had found an isolated church to 
     burn down, a church no one would notice, much less care 
     about.
       They were wrong. This church is now at the center of the 
     universe. It might as well be located in the middle of Times 
     Square in New York, or between the White House and the U.S. 
     Congress in Washington.
       Perhaps they thought only Baptists would care.
       They were wrong. It's not just Baptists who care. It's all 
     caring people who care. And if this was an assault against 
     Baptists, then all of us--of many religions--are today 
     Baptists.
       Perhaps they thought only African Americans would care.
       They were wrong. It's not just African Americans who care. 
     It's all caring people who care. And if this was an assault 
     against African Americans, then all of us--of many races--are 
     today African Americans.
       Perhaps they thought only Christians would care.
       They were wrong. It's not just Christians who care. It's 
     all caring people who care. And if this was an assault 
     against Christians, then all of us--of many faiths--are today 
     Christians.
       Perhaps they thought their hate would prevail.
       They were wrong. Our love will. Our bonds--across race, 
     religion, geography--will prevail. As we stand here today, 
     hand in hand, arm in arm, shoulder to shoulder, we know 
     that to be true.
       Perhaps they thought destruction would prevail.
       They were wrong. Construction will prevail. We are 
     builders, not destroyers. The rebuilding of this church is 
     but one example.
       Perhaps they thought an exclusive view of America would 
     prevail.
       They were wrong. An inclusive vision of America--of all its 
     people and their rich diversity--will prevail. We reaffirm 
     that vision today, as we must every day. An America where we 
     will learn to live together as brothers and sisters, else we 
     die together as fools, as the late Reverend King so 
     poignantly stated.
       Ladies and Gentlemen, Brothers and Sisters,
       When we at the American Jewish Committee learned about the 
     spate of church burnings, we wanted to extend a helping 
     hand--not just in words, words can be quite cheap, but in 
     deeds. We wanted to rise up as part of the community of 
     conscience and stand with those in pain and in need. We 
     wanted to do something tangible.
       For many of us, the sight of church burnings was all too 
     familiar. Near and far, we have witnessed many of our 
     synagogues, far too many, go down in ashes--targets of hate. 
     We have experienced the sense of fear, of vulnerability, of 
     anger, and of isolation that comes with such tragedies. And 
     we know what can happen when we are alone. Yes, we know.
       For too long, we were alone, as you have been alone.
       But no more. Enough. Many good people are waking up and 
     want to be counted. You are not alone. We are not alone. Just 
     this past week, for example, Jews around the world were 
     celebrating the holiday of Chanukah, the eight days marking 
     the first recorded struggle for religious freedom, the 
     freedom to be different. A Jewish family outside Philadelphia 
     experienced a frightening event.
       During the night, someone came, broke a window and 
     destroyed the candelabra, the menorah as we call it, shining 
     bright in their window. But what happened next? By the end of 
     that day, virtually every home in the immediate neighborhood, 
     Christian and Jewish, had placed a menorah in their front 
     window. And something very similar happened in Billings, 
     Montana three years earlier when thousands of Christian 
     homes placed menorahs in their windows after a similar 
     attack.
       That's true faith, that's genuine kindness, that's real 
     brotherly and sisterly love.
       No, none of us should be alone. None of us should ever 
     again experience the fear of isolation. And none of us should 
     ever again remain quiet or inactive at such moments. That 
     would be akin to acquiescence, to defeat.
       And that's why we wanted to help, to stand up and be 
     counted, to affirm that we are all God's children, all 
     created in the Divine image. In doing so, we were motivated 
     by the words of Samuel:
       ``The Lord declares to you that He, the Lord, will build a 
     house for you . . . He shall build a house for God's name . . 
     . Be pleased, therefore, to bless your servant's house, that 
     it may abide before You forever; for You, O Lord God, have 
     spoken. May your servant's house be blessed forever by Your 
     blessing.''
       Joining me here today are a number of American Jewish 
     Committee colleagues whom I'd like to ask to join me now. 
     From Atlanta: Lois Frank, Steve Kleber, Sherry Frank and 
     Sunny Stern. From Philadelphia: Lisa Weinberger and Eric 
     Kantor.
       And though technically not a colleague, I'd also like to 
     ask my 17-year-old son, Danny, to come up. I asked Danny if 
     he would come with me from New York because I wanted him to 
     experience this day for himself and hopefully to draw 
     strength and inspiration from it.
       Reverend Baldwin, my colleagues and I at the American 
     Jewish Committee said we wanted to do something tangible. As 
     you know, we and the whole family of the American Jewish 
     Committee undertook a fund raising effort to help you and 
     your congregation rebuild the Gay's Hill Baptist Church. I am 
     pleased today to be able to give you these checks totalling 
     more than $87,000 that resulted from the effort.
       And now, may I ask you all--Christian and Jew, black and 
     white, we who seek to build, not destroy; to love, not hate; 
     to heal, not wound--to join hands for a moment of prayer.
       ``Our God and God of all Generations, We rejoice at the 
     gift of friendship and fellowship that is ours this day.
       We ask Your blessing upon those who lead and serve this 
     Congregation. Bless them in their endeavors to build a new 
     House of Prayer.
       Give special strength, wisdom and courage to those who will 
     labor to build this new House. Be with them in the days and 
     months ahead.
       And may they achieve the goal we all seek, the gift we Jews 
     call Shalom, the gift of peace. And let us say, Amen.''
     
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