[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 97 (Friday, June 15, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1312]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              A TRIBUTE TO REVEREND DR. ARLEE GRIFFIN, JR.

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                          HON. EDOLPHUS TOWNS

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, June 15, 2007

  Mr. TOWNS. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the Reverend Dr. 
Arlee Griffin, Jr. Reverend Griffin is a native of Elizabeth City North 
Carolina. An honor graduate of Northeastern High School, Reverend 
Griffin earned a bachelor of arts degree in Zoology from the University 
of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He later earned a master's of 
Divinity degree from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. 
Reverend Griffin has also studied at East Carolina University, New York 
University, the Postgraduate Center for Mental Health in New York City, 
and abroad at Oxford University in England. He graduated from Boston 
University with a doctorate of Ministry. In April, 1992, Shaw Divinity 
School awarded him an honorary doctorate of Divinity.
  Reverend Griffin served as pastor of Cornerstone Missionary Baptist 
Church in Greenville, North Carolina for nearly 10 years. During his 
tenure, the church experienced unprecedented growth and many new 
ministries were established, including the Cornerstone Christian Child 
Care Center. The church later relocated, and in 1996, a new $1 million 
facility was built.
  Reverend Griffin served in several positions of leadership in both 
community and religious organizations in North Carolina. Among them: 
president of the Pitt County Black Ministerial Alliance; moderator and 
vice-moderator of the Old Eastern Missionary Baptist Association; 
parliamentarian of the General Baptist State Convention of North 
Carolina; trustee of Pitt County Memorial Hospital; and campus minister 
at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
  Reverend Griffin became the senior pastor of Brooklyn's Berean 
Baptist Church in 1989. Under his leadership, the Community Service 
Center has been revitalized, now offering a full range of social 
services including emergency food distribution, meals to the homeless 
and needy, Alcoholics and Narcotics Anonymous groups, employment 
counseling, training programs and senior citizens' programs. In 1996, 
the church completed Berean Gardens, a $7 million senior citizens' 
housing complex. More recently, the church broke ground on a community 
and family life center, a 4-story building which includes a primary 
healthcare center, a full scale gymnasium and a fitness and wellness 
center.
  Reverend Griffin has done missionary work in Senegal, Gambia, West 
Africa and South Africa and was a delegate to the First African and 
African-American Summit at the Ivory Coast in 1991. He was selected to 
be an official international election observer in the first free South 
African election in April of 1994. Dr. Griffin has also been an 
associate professor of church administration at the New York 
Theological Seminary.
  Reverend Griffin is married to Mrs. Angela Farr Griffin of Rocky 
Mount, North Carolina. They have two daughters: Angel Arlecia and Ariel 
Arlyce.
  Madam Speaker, I would like to recognize Reverend Dr. Arlee Griffin, 
Jr. for his many works and his tremendous contribution to his 
congregants and the community.
  Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in paying tribute to 
this wonderful man and his tireless commitment to others.

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