[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 14 (Monday, January 27, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E66]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[[Page E66]]
                    TRIBUTE TO PASTOR HERBERT GUICE

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. BARBARA LEE

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Monday, January 27, 2003

  Ms. LEE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor a great spiritual and 
civic leader, Pastor Herbert Guice for his lifetime of ministry. In 
addition, he has been a tireless champion of education, empowerment, 
and equality for more than 89 years.
  Reared by his mother, Mrs. Eulee Guice, Reverend Doctor Herbert Guice 
was born in Rentisville, OK. The family later moved to Kansas City, MO, 
where he and his younger brother grew up and where he attended Lincoln 
High School and Baptist Seminary. In 1942, he moved to Oakland, CA, and 
in 1953, he organized Bethel Missionary Baptist Church, the first Black 
church founded in Alameda. Bethel Missionary was the first modern Black 
church built from the ground up.
  Pastor Guice has provided broad civic and community leadership as: 
organizer and first president of the Alameda branch of the NAACP; 
executive board member, Alameda Red Cross; Chair of the Board of 
Directors of the Oakland Industrial Corporation; Advisory Committee 
member for the Oakland Unified School District. He has also served on 
the Adult Minority Employment Project and Oakland Economic Development 
Council, the Alameda County Welfare Advisory Committee, and was 
president of the Baptist Ministers Union.
  In 1961, Reverend Doctor Guice established an educational and 
scholarship program which has awarded over $1 million dollars to over 
3,000 students. He instituted the Bethel Baptist Church Job Placement 
Program in 1971, providing full-time and part-time job placements for 
2,500 young people and adults. In 1983, Pastor Guice led the church's 
efforts to purchase a lot and construct the Dr. Herbert Guice Christian 
Academy for pre-school through sixth grade, which was completed in 
1997. The sixth grade class of June 2002 was the first graduating class 
of the Academy.
  Finally, as we honor Pastor Guice today, I want to thank him on 
behalf of the entire 9th, Congressional District for being an exemplary 
role model, pastor, and preacher. Pastor Guice is known, acknowledged, 
and appreciated as, ``an originator not an imitator.'' He has been a 
friend who has shared his wisdom and has given me tremendous support. 
Most of all, I thank Pastor Guice for his indomitable spirit and his 
prayers.
  I take great pride in joining Reverend Doctor Guice's friends and 
colleagues to salute the extraordinary Herbert Guice.

                          ____________________