[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 91 (Friday, July 14, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1242]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  IN CELEBRATION OF THE GRAND OPENING OF THE NEW SANCTUARY AND MULTI-
   COMMUNITY CENTER AT EVERGREEN BAPTIST CHURCH, OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. BARBARA LEE

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, July 13, 2000

  Ms. LEE. Mr. Speaker, today I celebrate the Grand Opening of the New 
Sanctuary and Multi-Community Center at Evergreen Baptist Church in 
Oakland, California. A month-long celebration and dedication will take 
place each Sunday in July, concluding on Sunday, July 30, 2000. This 
multi-million dollar project has been designed specifically to serve 
the needs of the residents of North Oakland.
  The community center will offer two daily meal programs. The first 
meal program will be a part of the Church's children's center and will 
provide hot, nutritious meals to the children residing in the motels 
along the West MacArthur corridor. The West MacArthur corridor, which 
runs from Broadway to San Pablo Avenue, is a highly transient area with 
some of the poorest people of Oakland living in these motels.
  In addition to providing meals to these children, a second meal 
program has been established to feed adults, particularly seniors, in 
the community.
  Evergreen Baptist Church is also expanding its activities and 
outreach throughout the community through a variety of ways. The church 
will be participating in the Welfare to Work Program by providing a 
care center for young expectant mothers. In an effort to decrease the 
high infant mortality rate among African-Americans, the Church is also 
establishing a Well Baby Clinic to promote better health care to these 
expectant mothers.
  To tie all of these programs together, the Evergreen Baptist Church 
has chosen ``Lifting the Least'' as its theme for the new center. I 
applaud the many efforts and activities of Evergreen Baptist Church by 
serving as a model to other organizations of innovative ways to assist 
our populations most in need.

                          ____________________