[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 150 (Thursday, October 4, 2007)]
[House]
[Page H11254]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 WELCOMING THE REVEREND DR. CLAY EVANS

  (Mr. RUSH asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. RUSH. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to welcome our guest chaplain, 
the Reverend Dr. Clay Evans, the pastor emeritus of the Fellowship 
Baptist Church of Chicago, Illinois.
  Dr. Evans, the son of A. Henry and Estanauly Evans, was born on June 
23, 1925, in Brownsville, Tennessee. Ordained a Baptist minister in 
1950, the illustrious founding pastor of the affectionately called 
``SHIP'' has been responsible for launching the ministerial careers of 
93 men and women.
  Mr. Speaker, he was my catechizer at my own ordination.
  Dr. Evans has been a leader in the civil rights movement since 1965. 
He was a staunch supporter in the Chicago crusade of Dr. Martin Luther 
King. That staunch support caused funding for his new church to be cut 
off, and the structure stood unfinished for 8 years.
  From 1971 to 1976 he was the founding national board chairman of the 
Rainbow PUSH Coalition. Rev. Evans was the founding president and 
chairman of the African American Religious Connection, the founding 
president of the Broadcast Ministers of Chicago, and was a board member 
of the National Baptist Convention, U.S.A., Inc.
  This radio and television minister, who reached listeners weekly in 
more than 20 States, has been happily married to the former Lutha Mae 
Hollingshed for more than 60 years, and they are the proud parents of 
five children.
  Although Rev. Evans retired as pastor on December 8, 2000, he remains 
a man of faith, a man of vision, and one who emphatically believes: 
``It is no secret what God can do.''

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