[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 62 (Monday, April 27, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E984]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 HONORING A.M.E. PRESIDING ELDER JOSEPH D. PATTERSON ON HIS RETIREMENT

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. CHAKA FATTAH

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, April 27, 2009

  Mr. FATTAH. Madam Speaker, one of Philadelphia's most distinguished 
and influential clergymen, Presiding Elder Joseph D. Patterson, Sr. of 
the African Methodist Episcopal Church, will be honored and feted on 
May 2, 2009, as he moves from decades of service to his God, his church 
and the people of Philadelphia into well-deserved retirement.
  Presiding Elder Patterson has served the A.M.E. in its ``itinerant 
ministry'' for 45 years, pastoring and overseeing churches in 
Philadelphia, the western Main Line, southern New Jersey and Atlantic 
City.
  Presiding Elder Patterson is perhaps best known for his 22 years as 
Pastor of Hickman Temple A.M.E. Church, where he directed an era of 
significant growth at Hickman as both a spiritual home and community 
resource for Southwest Philadelphia. His impact on the community is 
still felt to this day. He facilitated the building of the Samuel J. 
Patterson Mercy Wellness Center at 50th Street and Baltimore Avenue, 
which bears his father's name. He was founder and president of the 
Baltimore Avenue Redevelopment Corporation and past chairman of the $41 
million West Philadelphia Empowerment Zone. He was a member of the 
Council of Trustees at Cheyney University, serving the school he had 
attended as both an undergraduate and graduate student.
  Presiding Elder Patterson has demonstrated strong leadership both 
within his own A.M.E. denomination and in the broader community of 
faith. He served as President of the Black Clergy of Philadelphia and 
Vicinity from 1995-1997, and in numerous other capacities. He is past 
president of the A.M.E. Preachers Meeting. Since his appointment as 
Presiding Elder in 2001, he has served two years as Elder of the 
Philadelphia District and almost six years as Elder of the West/
Mainline District--the post from which he is retiring.
  And all along he has been blessed by the love and support of his wife 
Joyce, mother Ida, and children Joseph D. Jr., Jewell D. and Jocelyn D. 
Patterson.
  Presiding Elder Joseph D. Patterson Sr. will be honored with a 
special Retirement Service, May 2, 2009, at Mount Pisgah A.M.E. Church, 
428 N. 41st Street, Philadelphia, with A.M.E. Presiding Bishop Richard 
F. Norris of the First District as Guest Preacher. I invite my 
colleagues in the House of Representatives to join me in saluting the 
career of this great man of God and preacher of the Gospel, and to wish 
him Godspeed upon his retirement.

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