[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 139 (Sunday, October 29, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2018]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       REVEREND HOWARD'S HISTORIC ROLE AT BETHANY BAPTIST CHURCH

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. DONALD M. PAYNE

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                        Sunday, October 29, 2000

  Mr. PAYNE. Mr. Speaker, today--Sunday October 29th--marks a very 
special occasion at the historic Bethany Baptist Church in Newark, New 
Jersey, with the conclusion of a three-day installation celebration for 
the new pastor, The Reverend Dr. M. William Howard, Jr. I was pleased 
to be among the many well-wishers who attended the solemn morning 
worship service to officially welcome Reverend Howard, under whose 
dynamic leadership Bethany Baptist will continue to flourish and to 
reach even greater heights.
  Bethany Baptist, the oldest African American Baptist Church in 
Newark, was founded in 1871. Underscoring the church's strong emphasis 
on community involvement and cultural commitment, the building itself 
was designed to resemble an African hut. Ministries of the church 
include a senior citizen center, AIDS ministry, hospice program, 
computer literacy program, prison ministry, race track ministry for 
jockeys, a farmer's market, support for foster children, and 
missionaries in Africa, Asia, and the Caribbean.
  Reverend Howard served as President of New York Theological Seminary, 
a graduate school of theology committed to increasing the capacity of 
church workers as they strive to make a positive difference in their 
congregations and their communities, from 1992 to 2000. In recognition 
of his work, the Arthur Vining Davis Foundations named NYTS the 
recipient of its Award for Excellence for the year 2000. Prior to 
assuming the presidency at NYTS, Rev. Howard was for 20 years a member 
of the national staff of America's oldest Protestant denomination--The 
Reformed Church in America. He also served as moderator of the World 
Council of Churches/Programme to Combat Racism, President of the 
National Council of Churches, and President of the American Committee 
on Africa. An activist for social justice at home and abroad, Reverend 
Howard was a leading participant in the movement against apartheid in 
South Africa for two decades. His strong moral stand prompted the 
former apartheid government to deny him a visa to visit South Africa. 
When Nelson Mandela made his first visit to the U.S., Reverend Howard 
chaired the committee which organized the interfaith worship service at 
the Riverside Church at which Mr. Mandela was welcomed to New York. In 
1979, during the hostage crisis in Iran, Dr. Howard conducted Christmas 
worship for Americans being held captive at the U.S. embassy, and in 
1984, he chaired the delegation which along with the Reverend Jesse 
Jackson succeeded in obtaining release of a U.S. Navy pilot being held 
prisoner in Syria after having been shot down during a bombing mission 
over Lebanon. His work has taken him to Cuba, the former Soviet Union, 
the People's Republic of China, Central America and the Middle East.
  Reverened Howard, a native of Americus, Georgia, is a graduate of 
Morehouse College and Princeton Theological Seminary. He holds several 
honorary degrees, keys to cities and awards from many organizations. A 
member of Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity and the Council of Foreign Relations, 
he has served as Secretary of the Association of Theological Schools, a 
member of the New York City Board of the Enterprise Foundation, and a 
commissioner of the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture.
  Mr. Speaker, I know my colleagues in Congress join me in 
congratulating Reverend Howard and his wife Barbara Jean, who are the 
parents of three children, as he officially assumes this new leadership 
role at the historic Bethany Baptist Church.

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