[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 51 (Friday, March 23, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E636]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      COMMEMORATION OF THE MORNING STAR MISSIONARY BAPTIST CHURCH

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. EARL BLUMENAUER

                               of oregon

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, March 23, 2007

  Mr. BLUMENAUER. Madam Speaker, the Morning Star Missionary Baptist 
Church has been a historic and cultural landmark of Portland ever since 
May 17, 1959, when the congregation marched from their temporary home 
on North Fargo Street to their new home at 106 Northeast Ivy Street. It 
was there that Reverend O.B. Williams of Vancouver Avenue Baptist 
Church preached the first sermon as Morning Star's guest for the 
afternoon service.
  The Church building, constructed in 1919, and inhabited by Morning 
Star for the past 48 years, has come to represent not only a historic 
landmark, but a lively center of worship. The church also embodies an 
important part of the modern-day tradition, culture, and fabric of the 
community. Morning Star Missionary Baptist Church has helped to meet 
the needs of the community by providing important assistance to those 
around them who are in need. In addition, the church offers a venue for 
a vital spiritual and social community network.
  The Morning Star Missionary Baptist Church has endured much 
restoration and growth in the past, but no one in the community was 
prepared for the tragic burning to the ground of this historic building 
on February 6, 2007. In a show of support, many individuals, churches, 
community organizations and local businesses have offered thousands of 
dollars in donations in support of the eventual reconstruction of the 
church. We thank them for their generosity.
  It is with admiration and respect that the long history of the 
Morning Star Missionary Baptist Church be honored. By commemorating 
this historic fire and the eventual reconstruction, Portland can help 
to keep the memory and present duty of this church alive.
  We stand with Pastor A. Wayne Johnson, the Morning Star Missionary 
Baptist Church congregation and their respective communities in 
solidarity during this trying time. We recognize the sense of loss that 
all associated must feel surrounding this unexpected fire, and we 
extend our best wishes to the congregation for the church's recovery 
and restoration. We only hope that the church's capacity to help the 
community it has reached out to over its many esteemed years of service 
will soon be restored to its fullest.

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