[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 41 (Thursday, March 13, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E470-E471]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 A TRIBUTE TO PASTOR JEAN BURCH, 29TH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT WOMAN OF 
                             THE YEAR--2003

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. ADAM B. SCHIFF

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 13, 2003

  Mr. SCHIFF. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor Women's History Month. 
Each year, we pay special tribute to the accomplishments made by our 
nation's most distinguished women during the month of March. It is my 
great honor to recognize extraordinary women who are making a 
difference in my district.
  I stand today, to recognize an outstanding woman of California's 29th 
Congressional District. Pastor Jean Burch of Pasadena, California, has 
been pivotal in the social and religious vitality of our community and 
I wish to salute her efforts today.
  Raised in Pasadena, she attended Pasadena City College, continuing 
her journey into higher education at Biola University where she earned 
her Bachelor of Arts Degree in Organizational Leadership with an 
emphasis in Biblical Studies.
  Pastor Burch had a successful twenty-year career within the legal 
profession. In March 2000, she left the legal profession to become the 
Senior Pastor of Community Baptist Church in Pasadena. Her religious 
career began in the early 1970s under the leadership of Dr. Reverend 
Coy Turrentine, the late Bishop James E. Henry and as Assistant Pastor 
for her father, Pastor Emeritus John W. Burch at Community Baptist 
Church. In addition, she served as an instructor at the Southern 
California School of Ministry, teaching a course entitled ``Women in 
Ministry.''
  A natural leader, she has been extensively involved in many 
community, civic, and religious organizations. Some of the boards she

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has served on include the National Association for Law Placement, the 
Los Angeles Association of Legal Recruitment Directors and the Pasadena 
Public Library Association. Currently she is a board member of the 
Ecumenical Council of Pasadena Area Churches and Northwest Pasadena 
Development Corporation. Along with other faith leaders and the 
Coalition for Zero Violence, Pastor Burch participates in a united 
effort to end violence in the Pasadena Unified School District. Her 
church, Community Baptist, is the faith-based partner for Community 
Arms and Kings Villages affordable housing properties.
  Pastor Jean, as she is affectionately called, is beloved and 
respected by the entire community. She is the proud mother of Leya 
Douglas, a member of her ministry team, and a grandmother to Kyley 
Douglas, born in January 2003.
  I ask all Members of Congress to join me today in honoring a 
remarkable woman of California's 29th Congressional District, Pastor 
Jean Burch. The entire community joins me in thanking Pastor Burch for 
her continued efforts to make the 29th Congressional District a more 
vibrant and enjoyable place in which to live.

                          ____________________