[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 9 (Thursday, January 24, 2013)]
[Senate]
[Page S243]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      RETIREMENT OF REV. DR. LINWOOD ``WOODY'' H. CHAMBERLAIN, JR.

  Mr. BROWN. Madam President, I rise today to celebrate the career and 
the calling of a remarkable Ohioan and a close friend, the Reverend Dr. 
Linwood H. Chamberlain, Jr. Our Pastor Woody and his wife Peggy are 
important to Connie and me and to our whole community in Lorain.
  The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, of which I am a member, 
embraces the motto, ``God's work, our hands.'' It means moral 
imperatives must be the concern of every citizen. In his 31 years of 
service to the First Lutheran Church of Lorain, OH, Pastor Woody has 
labored for love and for justice. He has been doing God's work, as has 
his wife Peggy, supporting those who suffer, celebrating our 
community's joys, and being concerned with every citizen.
  Pastor Woody has been a counselor and a friend to many. His words, 
his attentiveness, his patient understanding, and his gentle 
encouragement have helped members of my home church tackle seemingly 
intractable problems with poise and with confidence. He supported the 
First Lutheran family through weddings and funerals, through baptisms 
and celebrations, and I am especially grateful for his prayers and 
wisdom over the years.
  Pastor Woody has been so valuable to our church, and his leadership 
will be missed as he just retired. His retirement will be celebrated 
this coming Sunday.
  My mother, whose faith was especially important to her, passed away 4 
years ago, around this time of year. She was in hospice care in her 
final days. My wife Connie and I were at her bedside--and my brothers 
Bob and Charlie and their wives Anne and Catherine were at her bedside 
over the past 6 weeks--and one day when I was with my Mom I asked if 
there was anything I could do to comfort her. She was 88 years old. She 
was just a remarkable woman as a mother and as a wife and an activist 
in the community. She asked me to sing an old Lutheran hymn to her, 
which I did. The song was ``Beautiful Savior.''
  She took my hand in hers as I sang. She said, ``That was very nice, 
Sherrod.'' She said, ``But you really do sound better in a group.''
  My mom was right. We all sound better in a group, work better in a 
group, and that was exemplified in so many ways by Pastor Woody's 
leadership at First Lutheran. It is a lesson we all can learn in this 
body as we go about our daily lives.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. BROWN. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent the order for the 
quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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