[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 28 (Thursday, March 10, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Page S2481]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 TRIBUTE TO THE FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH OF KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI, ON ITS 
                           150TH ANNIVERSARY

 Mr. BOND. Mr. President, it is with great pleasure that I 
congratulate the First Baptist Church of Kansas City, MO, on its 150th 
anniversary.
  The First Baptist Church has had a long and proud history, coinciding 
with the history of Kansas City. The church was organized on April 21, 
1855, by a group of 10 men and women in the small settlement along the 
Missouri River incorporated as the City of Kansas. The first pastor was 
the Reverend R.S. Thomas. In 1859 the congregation completed its first 
building at Eighth and May Streets in downtown Kansas City.
  In 1880, a new church building was completed on the southwest corner 
of Twelfth and Baltimore, later the side of the Hotel Muehlebach. The 
growth of the congregation and the city dictated relocation of the 
church in the early 1900s. A new site was chosen at Linwood Boulevard 
and Park Avenue while a West Side Branch of the church was established 
at Thirteenth and Broadway to serve the needs of downtown residents. 
Both buildings were dedicated in 1909. From 1909 and 1942, First 
Baptist Church ministered in two very different locations. After our 
country's entry in World War II, changing conditions and needs brought 
the decision to end the West Side ministry. The property was sold to 
the Salvation Army.
  In 1960, the congregation voted to establish a branch church in the 
southern part of Kansas City. The new colonial-style church building 
was completed in 1963 at the northwest corner of Wornall Road and Red 
Bridge Road. There have since been two additions to the original 
structure. The First Baptist Church of Kansas City was once again 
ministering at two locations within the city. In 1982, the Linwood 
Boulevard building was sold to the Metropolitan Missionary Baptist 
Church. Since that time, the church's single location has been at Red 
Bridge and Wornall.
  Throughout its 150 years, First Baptist Church of Kansas City, MO, 
has striven to maintain its concern for and involvement in the entire 
Kansas City community. Its pastors and members have often assumed 
leadership positions in civic affairs, especially during a time when 
Kansas City was fighting to end political corruption within the local 
government and later when Kansas City worked to bring an end to 
discrimination in public facilities and housing.
  The First Baptist Church of Kansas City has strongly supported the 
home mission and foreign mission programs of their denomination. Many 
of their members have served in foreign mission fields, including two 
who are presently working in Hong Kong. The church has always been 
involved in ecumenical relationships with other churches, other 
denominations and other faiths in their community, in our nation, and 
throughout the world by their membership in the Baptist World Alliance.
  I commend the congregation of First Baptist Church of Kansas City on 
their commitment to maintain high standards of worship, music, and 
fellowship. I am pleased to join with the Kansas City community and the 
State of Missouri in congratulating the congregation and wishing them 
continued growth and success for the next 150 years.

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