[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 127 (Thursday, September 10, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2245]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   CONGRATULATING BISHOP JACOB COHEN

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. KENDRICK B. MEEK

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 10, 2009

  Mr. MEEK of Florida. Madam Speaker, I am pleased to recognize and 
extend my congratulations to Bishop Jacob Cohen on his 50th anniversary 
of pastoral ministry in service to the A.M. Cohen Temple, the Eastern 
Florida Jurisdiction, and the Church of God in Christ.
  Bishop Jacob Cohen, the ninth son and twelfth child of Bishop Amaziah 
Melvin Cohen, founder and pastor of the Miami Temple Church of God in 
Christ, was educated in the Miami-Dade County Public School System. 
While a student at Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University his 
educational pursuit was interrupted with his decision to serve in the 
United States Army, stationed in Fort Bragg, North Carolina. He then 
went on to serve the 82nd Airborne Division. Upon honorable discharge, 
he enrolled at Fayetteville State University in North Carolina and 
graduated in 1958 with a bachelor's degree in education.
  Soon after, Bishop Cohen married his wife, Mrs. Josie Jackson, the 
daughter of the Late Deacon John and Mother Josie Jackson. The two are 
blessed with four children, four grandchildren and four great-
grandchildren.
  In 1971, Bishop Cohen was appointed as Superintendent of the Miami 
District and also served as Jurisdictional Bishop of the Eastern 
Florida Jurisdiction. In 1972, he was elected to serve on the General 
Board of the Church of God in Christ, the governing board of the 
international church. He served for 14 years.
  With a career spanning half a century, Bishop Cohen served on many 
national, state, and local boards and advisory councils including the 
NAACP, YMCA, Governor's Committee on the Black Family, and the Boy 
Scouts. He sponsored the Labor Task Force for the renovations of Saints 
Industrial Junior College, established the Clergy Bureau for the Church 
of God in Christ, and wrote the financial plan for the National Church 
of God in Christ. On March 11, 2006, Bishop Jacob Cohen was presented 
with an Honorary Doctorate Degree from Saint Thomas Christian College 
in Jacksonville, Florida.
  Under the leadership of Bishop Cohen, A.M. Cohen Temple has taken an 
active and progressive role in directly addressing the temporal and 
spiritual needs of our neighbors. I want to commend him for his 
tireless apostolate in ministering to those who were imprisoned, to the 
hungry and to all those seeking the love and solace of a Church that 
seeks to affirm and confirm their dignity as God's children. Bishop 
Cohen's anniversary in the ministry takes on a meaning much greater 
than the passage of time, for he and the Church have met the spiritual 
needs of thousands of people who came before them, and through the 
grace of God will continue to do so for another century to come. It is 
a magnificent legacy we will celebrate.
  Madam Speaker and my colleagues, I ask that you join me in honoring 
Bishop Jacob Cohen, a humble servant of God, a true beacon of hope and 
a guiding light in the 17th Congressional District of Florida.

                          ____________________