[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 156 (Monday, November 8, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2293]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 CELEBRATING THE 150TH ANNIVERSARY OF IMMANUEL UNITED METHODIST CHURCH

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                          HON. DAVID E. BONIOR

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, November 5, 1999

  Mr. BONIOR. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to recognize a truly remarkable 
church. The Immanuel United Methodist Church building may have moved 
around Eastpointe several times since its founding as the Roseville 
German Methodist Church in 1849, but its congregation has stood its 
ground in the community for all of its 150 years.
  The church conducted its services in German until 1923, helping 
establish an identity for the German immigrants that settled in the 
area. As the population changed, so did the church which has evolved to 
meet the needs of the community. The church can credit its longevity to 
the teaching ``Do unto others as you would have done unto you''. 
Immanuel United Methodist Church has never focused on itself, but 
through its good works has established itself as an anchor to the 
Eastpointe community.
  The original structure stood on what is now the grounds of the 
Eastpointe Police Station, where the original cemetery still sits. The 
structure built in 1874 was well known for the lighted revolving cross 
that could be seen for miles atop the church steeple. It became known 
as ``The Church of the Revolving Cross''.
  When the state chose to widen Gratiot Avenue in 1933, the church 
moved to its present site and added an educational unit in 1956. Today, 
the church's 450 members are quite proud of the well-known stained 
glass window picturing Christ as ``The Good Shepherd''. The church is 
in fact a good shepherd to our community. The congregation provides an 
emergency food pantry, furnishes weekly meals to a local warming 
shelter, and supplies salary support for a mission in Africa.
  Since the days when the area was known as ``bush territory'' wild and 
unsettled, the church has been a part of our community, and we all look 
forward to many, many more years of service and dedication. Please join 
me in wishing all the best to the Immanuel United Methodist Church on 
its 150th anniversary.

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