[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 128 (Wednesday, September 23, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1777-E1778]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      IN HONOR OF DOVER, MO, CHRISTIAN CHURCH'S 150TH ANNIVERSARY

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                            HON. IKE SKELTON

                              of missouri

                    in the house of representatives

                     Wednesday, September 23, 1998

  Mr. SKELTON. Mr. Speaker, today, I wish to pay tribute to the 
parishioners, past and present, of the Dover, Missouri, Christian 
Church, who will celebrate the Church's 150th anniversary this year.
  The long history of the Dover Christian Church, located just east of 
my hometown of Lexington, MO, began in the decades before the War 
Between the States. In the early part of the 19th Century, two men, 
Thomas and Alexander Campbell, father and son, came to Missouri from 
Virginia. These men brought with them the idea of a new faith which 
fostered the dream of uniting all Protestant denominations. The little 
town of Dover accepted this tenet, and in August of 1824, the Dover 
Christian Church was organized.
  The tradition of the Church's August meeting began in 1824. Over the 
years, this event has become the binding tie to the members of the 
Church and to the community of Dover. These meetings have been one of 
the biggest and most looked-forward-to events in the community. From 
1824 to 1848, before there was a church building, Dover Christian 
Church's annual August meetings were held beneath three large elm trees 
that stood near a small bridge south of Dover. The current church 
facility was not completed until 1848.
  Mr. Speaker, for over 150 years, the members of the Dover Christian 
Church have been gathering in friendship and in prayer. I am certain 
that the Members of the House will join me in paying tribute to the 
Church and its parishioners.

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