[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 63 (Tuesday, May 4, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E853-E854]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


 A SALUTE TO FATHER JAMES VERNON MATTHEWS, II IN CELEBRATION OF HIS 25 
       YEARS OF FAITHFUL SERVICE AND COMMITMENT TO OUR COMMUNITY

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. BARBARA LEE

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                          Tuesday, May 4, 1999

  Ms. LEE. Mr. Speaker, it gives me great honor to rise today and bring 
to the attention of the United States House of Representatives a man 
many residents in my Congressional District affectionately know as 
Father Jay.
  Father James Vernon Matthews, II was ordained as the first Black 
Catholic Priest in northern California on May 3, 1974.
  Born in 1948 in Berkeley, California, to Yvonne Marie Feast and James 
Vernon Matthews, the Reverend Matthews graduated from Oakland's Skyline 
High School in 1966. He received a Bachelor of Arts Degree in 
Humanities and Philosophy from St. Patrick College, Mt. View, 
California in 1970, a Master of Divinity Degree from St. Patrick 
Seminary, Menlo Park, California in 1973 and attended the Continuing 
Education Program for Doctor of Ministry (Candidate) at the Jesuit 
School of Theology in Berkeley, California from 1977 to 1979.
  Over, the past 25 years, Father Jay has provided our community with a 
tireless commitment to service. He has conducted throughout the United 
States retreats for youth and workshops and retreats for African 
American Catholic vicariates and pastoral centers, participated as a 
team leader in Black Cultural Weekends of the Marriage Encounter 
Movement and most notably in 1993, conducted the St. Jude Novena at the 
National Shrine in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
  Father Jay's pastoral service has been as: Administrator and 
Associate Pastor of St. Cornelius Church, Richmond; St. Cyril Church, 
Oakland and All Saints Church, Hayward; Associate Pastor, Saint Louis 
Bertrand Church, Oakland; Deacon, Saint Columba Church,

[[Page E854]]

Oakland: Teacher, Bishop O'Dowd High School, Oakland; and Youth 
Minister of the Diocese of Oakland.
  Father Jay's professional affiliations include actively serving on 
several boards & organizations, including Catholic Charities, 
Catechetical Ministries of the Diocese of Oakland, Alameda Cancer 
Society, Bay Area, Black United Fund, Knights of St. Peter Claver, 
Knights of Columbus, Catholic Daughters of the Americas, Bay Area Urban 
League, NAACP, Martin Luther King, Jr. Birthday Observance Committee, 
National Association of Black Catholic Administrators, National 
Catholic Conference on Interracial Justice, Coordinating Committee, 
City of Oakland Strategic Plan, Oakland Mayor's Advisory Council on 
Education, Chaplain--Oakland Fire Department, Board of Directors--
Comprehensive Health Improvement Project, East Oakland Youth 
Development Center, and is the Chairman of the Church Committee for the 
United Negro College Fund of the East Bay.
  Father Jay has been the recipient of numerous awards including the 
Martin Luther King, Jr. Award for Outstanding Community Service, the 
Marcus Foster Educational Institute's Distinguished Alumni Award, the 
Rose Casanave Service Award of the Black Catholic Vicariate, as well as 
service awards from the Ladies Auxiliary of the Knights of St. Peter 
Claver and the Bay Area chapter of the Xavier University, New Orleans 
Alumni Association.
  Currently, Father Jay serves as Chaplain of Black Catholics of the 
Diocese of Oakland and Pastor of St. Benedict Church, Oakland.
  Throughout his life, Father Jay has epitomized the ideal of a true 
man of God. He is a powerful role model in his immediate community and 
communities throughout the country. The love and service he shows 
towards all people regardless of race, creed, or religious background 
has gained him the respect of his peers.
  On June 1, 1999 Father Jay will have the distinct privilege and honor 
to further his religious studies at the Vatican with a one year 
sabbatical from his current duties in the Diocese of Oakland.
  It is a great honor to salute Father Jay, not just for his 25 years 
of service as a Catholic priest but for the many years of warmth, 
compassion and love he has shared with our community. The City of 
Oakland and its surrounding environs are a better place to live because 
of his firm commitment to improving the human condition of all people.
  I wish Father Jay continued success as he embarks upon the next 25 
years of service to God, his country and the people of Oakland.

                          ____________________