[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 105 (Wednesday, September 8, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1562]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 CONGRATULATIONS TO REVEREND P. H. LEWIS, SR., ON THE OCCASION OF THE 
                    50TH ANNIVERSARY OF HIS MINISTRY

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                             HON. JO BONNER

                               of alabama

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, September 8, 2004

  Mr. BONNER. Mr. Speaker, it is with great pride and pleasure that I 
rise to pay tribute to Reverend P. H. Lewis, Sr., on the celebration of 
his 50th anniversary in active ministry.
  A native of Wilcox County, Alabama, Reverend Lewis has for the past 
34 years served as pastor of Bethel African Methodist Episcopal 
(A.M.E.) Church in Mobile, Alabama. Reverend Lewis graduated from 
Camden Academy in Camden, Alabama, and later from the Daniel Payne 
College and Payne Theological Seminary of Birmingham, Alabama. 
Following his graduation, he shared his gifts and skill as a pastor 
with several churches and congregations throughout Alabama: Miles 
Memorial A.M.E. Church in Birmingham, Gaines Chapel in Birmingham, 
Black Buff Circuit in Wilcox County, St. Mark A.M.E. Church in 
Tuscaloosa, and Brown Chapel A.M.E. Church in Selma.
  Reverend Lewis is also recognized as one of the leaders of the Civil 
Rights Movement of the 1960s. As the pastor of Brown Chapel A.M.E. 
Church, he was the only minister in the City of Selma to act against a 
prohibition on gatherings focused on the discussion of race issues and 
open his church for such meetings. Many of the early civil rights 
rallies of the 1960s were held at his church, and he and members of his 
congregation hosted the now-famous march from Selma to Montgomery that 
was led by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Reverend Lewis marched side-by-
side with Dr. King on this difficult march and endured the same 
arrests, harassment, and abuse that so many of the hundreds of men, 
women, and children did on that day in March 1965.
  He has throughout his life been a strong supporter of public 
education in Alabama and was the first African-American to serve on the 
Selma Public School Board. Reverend Lewis has also been extremely 
active in the life of the Mobile community. He is a member of the City 
of Mobile's Board of Adjustment, the Interdenominational Alliance of 
Mobile, the A.M.E. Ministerial Alliance of Mobile, Phi Beta Sigma 
Fraternity, the Mobile Chapter of the Southern Christian Leadership 
Conference, and the Board of Directors of Drug Free Mobile. During his 
life he has received numerous awards and citations for his religious, 
civic, and community involvement. In addition, he has during his career 
authored three well-respected books: Illustrations, Life is a Symbol of 
a Baseball Game, and Selma: The Other Side of 1965.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me today in recognizing 
Reverend P. H. Lewis, Sr., for his many significant contributions to 
his friends, his congregation, his community, and to the citizens of 
Alabama. He has indeed been a genuine asset and friend to everyone with 
whom he has come into contact and shared his gifts, and I wish him and 
his family--his wife, Alice Grady Lewis, his three sons, and his four 
grandchildren--much happiness and success in the time ahead.

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