[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 69 (Thursday, May 22, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1026]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


              HONORING WAKE EDEN COMMUNITY BAPTIST CHURCH

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. ELIOT L. ENGEL

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 22, 1997

  Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Speaker, I speak today to honor the Wake Eden 
Community Baptist Church which is celebrating its 25th anniversary as a 
center of worship in the northeast Bronx.
  The establishing of a mission in the community was borne out of an 
idea by the Rev. Dr. Samuel G. Simpson who, when driving through the 
area, saw the closed church. Instead of driving on, he wondered why, 
when he felt that the neighborhood needed a mission. That was in 1969. 
Three years later, on the second Sunday of May, 1972, an inaugural 
service was held. Present at the service were representatives of the 
Bronx Baptist Church and the Greenwich Baptist Church, two churches 
whose contributions made Wake Eden possible. Also at that historic 
service were local and denominational leaders as well as civic and 
community representatives.
  In the 25 years that followed, many programs were established to 
bring the ministry of the church into the neighborhood. A Sunday school 
and a youth group were established to teach and minister to the youth 
of the area, a medical fellowship composed of hospital workers makes 
their services available to the needy, a prison ministry carries the 
word to the imprisoned with a follow up for released inmates, the 
summer day camp and vacation Bible school cater to scores of community 
children, and the Wake-Eden Christian Academy, which started with 5 
students, now has more than 80.
  These are a few of the programs with which Wake-Eden makes its 
community a better place. I congratulate the Rev. Dr. Simpson and his 
church for their continuing good works.

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