[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 135 (Thursday, October 2, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1921-E1922]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    THE 100TH ANNIVERSARY OF MEMORIAL BAPTIST CHURCH IN DILLTOWN, PA

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. JOHN P. MURTHA

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, October 1, 1997

  Mr. MURTHA. Mr. Speaker, I'd like to take this opportunity before my 
colleagues in the House of Representatives to congratulate and pay 
tribute to the Memorial Baptist Church of Dilltown, PA, which is 
celebrating its 100th anniversary this month.
  It gives me great pride--and at the same time, humility--to be able 
to stand before you

[[Page E1922]]

to tell you about a church that has been part of its community for an 
entire century. Memorial Baptist, and many other small churches like 
it, have been quietly going about their work of teaching and 
strengthening families and communities so long that we hardly realize, 
until we stop and think about it, to what great extent they form the 
backbone of our country. A 100-year anniversary gives us this 
opportunity.
  Memorial Baptist Church has been a source of strength to its members 
and neighbors through many hard times. The church has provided 
spiritual support through two World Wars, the Great Depression, two 
more wars, times of social upheaval that tore many communities apart 
across our country, and the family struggles that come with many years 
of high unemployment. Dilltown is a very small, close-knit rural 
community located in southwestern Pennsylvania, a region hard-hit 
economically by the downsizing of the steel industry some years ago. 
Were it not for the good works of the small community churches like 
Memorial Baptist, many families might have been torn apart--many people 
might have lost their faith and their hope.
  But the Memorial Baptist Church has continued on, continued to be 
there to serve the people of Dilltown, and for that, we should all be 
humbly grateful.
  So again, I congratulate the pastor and members of Memorial Baptist 
Church on its 100th anniversary of service to God and community. Keep 
up the good work, and may you be there for 1,000 more years.

                          ____________________