[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 74 (Friday, June 7, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E999-E1000]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              HONORING REVEREND DR. ZAN WESLEY HOLMES, JR.

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, June 6, 2002

  Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to 
commemorate the career of one of Texas' most beloved and honored 
spiritual leaders, the Reverend Dr. Zan Wesley Holmes, Jr., who retires 
this month as Senior Pastor of St. Luke ``Community'' Methodist Church 
in Dallas. Reverend Holmes has been a friend and spiritual mentor to 
me--and to so many others in the world--throughout his decades of 
service to our community. This evening he is being honored for his 
extraordinary service with an Official Tribute orchestrated by the 
friends and family members he has touched over the years.
  Reverend Holmes is a man of unshakable faith, great wisdom, and 
bountiful kindness. He has been a pillar of the Dallas community for 
more than 45 years, working tirelessly to stabilize and mobilize our 
neighborhoods and improve the quality of life for all North Texans. By 
giving of himself so generously, he has helped to strengthen our 
families and our spiritual faith, promoted justice and equality, and 
helped create economic opportunities that has made Dallas a more 
diverse city to live.
  First and foremost, Reverend Holmes has been a spiritual beacon for 
the Dallas community. As a young man attending Huston-Tillotson 
College, he accepted his calling to the ministry and embarked on a path 
that has uplifted so many of us over the years. In 1956, Reverend 
Holmes moved to Dallas to attend Southern Methodist University's 
Perkins School of Theology. He became a professor in the same 
department in 1974, inspiring generations of ministers since that time.
  Throughout his pastoral career, Reverend Holmes has achieved many 
milestones. He helped found Hamilton Park United Methodist Church in 
Dallas. In 1968, Reverend Holmes rose to District Superintendent in the 
West Texas Conference of the United Methodist Conference when 
segregation called for a separate African-American governing body of 
the United Methodist Church. After the Methodist Conference integrated 
in 1970, Reverend Holmes' term as District Superintendent carried over 
into the unified conference and he proudly served on behalf of people 
of faith of all colors.
  Shortly thereafter, Reverend Holmes was appointed Minister of St. 
Luke Methodist Church in East Dallas. He came at a time when the church 
only had 50 members, and through his leadership, the congregation has 
grown to more than 5,000 members. He brought to St. Luke the desire to 
build a citywide congregation that embodied a strong commitment to 
community outreach. After his installation as pastor, the word 
``Community'' was added to the church's name at his insistence. In 
keeping with this sense of community, Reverend Holmes has brought many 
of his seminary students to St. Luke for their pastoral internship, 
making it a training ground for many well-known pastors who preach 
around the world today.
  Beyond his work in the pulpit, Reverend Holmes has been a tireless 
leader in the fight for fairness and equality in the Dallas-Ft. Worth 
Metroplex. While becoming one of Dallas' true visionaries, his work has 
helped to strengthen the voices and representation of African-
Americans, as well as Hispanic Americans in many sectors of our 
community.
  When I first considered running for the Texas House of 
Representatives in 1972, Reverend Holmes stood by my side and 
encouraged me. His wise counsel helped me to make the decision to run 
in that first election, which launched my 30-year legislative career. 
Throughout my career, I have been privileged to rely on Reverend Holmes 
for support and advice as well as for his friendship.
  He has also played a pivotal role in bringing up other Texas African-
Americans into elected office, and has met the call to office himself. 
Reverend Holmes worked on the campaign for the first elected African-
American Texas State Representative Joseph Lockridge. After 
Representative Lockridge was killed in an airplane crash, Reverend 
Holmes was asked to fill his unexpired term. Reverend Holmes then ran 
for election and served two full two-year terms as a Texas State 
Representative. As an elected official, Reverend Holmes fought to 
create single-member districts, which ensured that African American and 
Hispanic voters would have more representation. Many, many other 
African American political leaders have ascended to public service from 
his guidance and teaching.
  On any given day, hundreds of people in the Metroplex leave their 
homes to participate in programs spearheaded by Reverend Holmes. 
Believing that the church must be involved in the education of our 
youth, Reverend Zan Holmes and his late wife of 43 years, Dorothy, 
created the Zan W. Holmes, Jr. Scholarship Program, which has raised 
more than half a million dollars to help send deserving young people to 
college. At the end of each grading period, Reverend Holmes has 
reviewed the report cards of the children in his congregation. One by 
one, students have lined up outside his office to speak to Reverend 
Holmes about their grades and the challenges they are facing. These are 
the kind of personal touches that we have come to know from Reverend 
Holmes--and one of the great qualities we will dearly miss.
  Mr. Speaker, for all of these accomplishments, and for so many others 
that are too numerous to list here, I am proud to rise in honor of 
Reverend Dr. Zan Wesley Holmes, Jr. and to express my gratitude for his 
many years of selfless public service. He is truly a role model and 
leader in our global community, and though we will miss hearing his 
words of wisdom and faith coming from the pulpit each Sunday, we 
congratulate Reverend Holmes as he moves on to new spiritual journeys.

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