[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 100 (Thursday, July 23, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Page S8950]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        TRIBUTE TO THE DEVONSHIRE MEMORIAL CHURCH OF HARRISBURG

 Mr. SANTORUM. Mr. President, I rise today to pay tribute to 
the youth group from Devonshire Memorial Church in Harrisburg, 
Pennsylvania. On Sunday, July 26 ten students from the church will 
travel to Manning, South Carolina to assist in the rebuilding of the 
Macedonian Baptist Church which the Ku Klux Klan destroyed by fire in 
1996. The young people will also be working to renovate homes of church 
members that suffered damage due to the fire.
  The teenagers, who raised their own support for the trip through 
things such as church-wide dinners and fundraising letters, will join 
approximately 250 other young people from across the nation to work on 
painting, hanging drywall, repairing roofs and caulking windows.
  Church burnings are a violent act of hatred against the free exercise 
of religious faith. Arson, which has destroyed many southern African 
American churches, has also destroyed our dignity and our humanity. By 
dedicating their time and effort to rebuilding the walls of a church 
burned by hatred and bigotry, these young men and women are tearing 
down the walls of violence and racism and restoring faith to the 
Christian community.
  Mr. President, I ask my colleagues to join me in commending the young 
men and women of Devonshire Memorial Church for their dedication to 
restoring a church and a community, as well as the ideals of freedom in 
this country.




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