[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 131 (Wednesday, September 7, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1548]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               A TRIBUTE TO REVEREND DR. GEORGE F. REGAS

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. ADAM B. SCHIFF

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, September 7, 2011

  Mr. SCHIFF. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize Reverend Dr. 
George F. Regas of Pasadena, California. On September 11, 2011, Rev. 
Regas will be the first recipient of the George F. Regas Courageous 
Peacemaker Award, an award created by the Interfaith Communities United 
for Justice and Peace to acknowledge his tireless efforts for justice 
and peace.
  For nearly three decades, during his tenure as the Rector of All 
Saints Episcopal Church in Pasadena, Rev. Regas continually worked 
towards peace by speaking out against war and advocating nonviolent 
solutions to the world's problems. He established many organizations 
toward that end, including an Interfaith Center to Reverse the Nuclear 
Arms Race with Rabbi Leonard Beerman of Leo Baeck Temple calling for 
religious institutions to oppose the global arms race. In addition, in 
collaboration with Professor John Cobb of Claremont Graduate 
University, he founded Progressive Christians Uniting that works for 
opportunity and economic justice for all, established the interfaith 
group called Interfaith Communities United for Justice and Peace and a 
South African Center to expose the atrocities of apartheid with 
Archbishop Desmond Tutu. Community-focused organizations include Union 
Station in Pasadena (now Union Station Homeless Services), a service 
center for homeless citizens, and the All Saints AIDS Service Center 
(now AIDS Service Center), the largest AIDS service program in the San 
Gabriel Valley.
  Rev. Regas has served on the Boards of Trustees of both Claremont 
Graduate University and the Church Divinity School of the Pacific, and 
the Board of Directors of the Coalition For Zero Violence. In addition, 
he served as Chair of the Abrahamic Faiths Peacemaking Initiative, a 
group of Jewish, Muslim and Christian leaders, and Chair of the 
National Coalition for the Ordination of Women as Priests and Bishops 
in the Episcopal Church. Currently, he is on the Board of Directors for 
the Desmond Tutu Peace Foundation and is the Executive Director of The 
Regas Institute, an organization he founded that advocates for a 
progressive religion that addresses the issues of war, justice, and 
equality.
  Rev. Dr. Regas has received many prestigious awards during his 
lifetime. Some of the honors include the 2008 Distinguished Peace 
Leadership Award from the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation, Harvard-
Radcliffe Club's John Harvard Distinguished Service Award, the Justice 
Award from The Islamic Center of Southern California, and the 
Humanitarian Award from B'nai B'rith International.
  I ask all Members to join me in congratulating Reverend Dr. George F. 
Regas, a paramount voice for peace and justice in the United States, 
upon being named the inaugural recipient of the George F. Regas 
Courageous Peacemaker Award.

                          ____________________