[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 142 (Friday, October 11, 2013)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1496-E1497]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     IN HONOR OF MISSIONARY KATHERINE CASH GRIFFEY'S 80TH BIRTHDAY 
                              CELEBRATION

                                 ______
                                 

                      HON. SANFORD D. BISHOP, JR.

                               of georgia

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, October 11, 2013

  Mr. BISHOP. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay a special tribute to an 
outstanding evangelist, life coach, minister, nurse, missionary and 
all-around phenomenal woman, Evangelist Katherine Cash Griffey, who 
will be celebrating her 80th birthday on Saturday, October 12, 2013, at 
the Crowne Plaza Atlanta Perimeter at Ravinia in Atlanta, Georgia.
  Missionary Katherine Cash Griffey was born on October 18, 1933, in 
Atlanta, Georgia to the late Mr. Robert Cash, Sr., and the late Mrs. 
Mary Jane Moss. The first of five children, she lived with her parents 
in the home of her grandparents, Rev. Lewis Woods and Missionary Irene 
Woods, who had founded Rome Church of God in Christ. Surrounded by 
religion, she was raised in the Christian Pentecostal Faith. Missionary 
Woods anointed her at birth, baptized her in the church at one year old 
and instilled in her a mindset of ``Holiness is Right.'' Missionary 
Woods also showed by example that a pure, righteous, and true walk in 
life is the one taken on God's Path.
  Mother Woods passed away when Evangelist Griffey was nine, but not 
before leaving her with these final words that she carries with her to 
this day, ``You are to do great things for the Lord, and to be about 
His mission in your life.'' After Evangelist Griffey's grandmother 
passed, her mother suffered a nervous breakdown, her father joined the 
Army and the children were separated, each going to live with other 
family.
  Evangelist Griffey went to live with her aunt, who had fifteen 
children, nine of whom lived in the home, so she never had her own bed 
in which to sleep. Her world torn apart, Evangelist Griffey became very 
ill and depressed, leading her to become inactive in the church.
  Missionary Griffey attended Wesley Avenue Elementary School-Atlanta 
Public School System until her father took her and her brother to 
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where she attended and graduated from 
Westinghouse High School.
  After graduation, Evangelist Griffey returned to Atlanta where she 
met her husband, Joseph Griffey. They began attending Antioch East 
Baptist Church, where she joined the Usher Board. The Rev. E.W. Lumpkin 
noticed her and called her in to tell her, ``You have something to do. 
The Lord is trying to speak to you.'' This was a pivotal moment in 
Evangelist Griffey's life.
  Encouraged by her pastor to accept a call to minister for God, 
Evangelist Griffey moved to Jacksonville, Florida, where she scrubbed 
floors while attending the Duval School of Nursing to earn her license 
as an LPN. She matriculated in the Zeta Van Gibson School of 
Theological Studies to better understand how she could fulfill the 
calling that God placed in her life. In 1967, she graduated with her 
License in Religious Bible Doctrine, Pages in Healing and Spiritual 
Advising and Teaching and simultaneously, the Spirit of God laid upon 
her heart the need to start The St. Katherine's Prayer Band at her home 
in Jacksonville, Florida. Then in 1969, while in constant prayer, 
Missionary Griffey made the decision to move back to Atlanta and 
continue her ministry with the Prayer Band.
  In April 1982, Missionary Griffey purchased her current home and 
welcomed the Lord and the Prayer Band inside. The Prayer Band's 
services were held every second Sunday and every Thursday Night in the 
``Prayer Room'' of the house. A debt-free Missionary Griffey was then 
led by God to mortgage her home and add the money to the funds that had 
already been raised to purchase a church building. Finally, on August 
9, 1989, the church's first home at 1153 Ormewood Avenue was purchased 
with cash and officially named and registered as The St. Katherine's 
C.O.G.I.C., Inc. Through divine intervention and a developer as a 
benefactor, the church was able to relocate to a larger facility on 
Covington Highway, where it continues to flourish to this day.
  Missionary Griffey has achieved much in her life, but none of this 
would have been possible without the love and support of her husband, 
Joseph, two sons, Joel and Jonathan, and her beautiful granddaughter, 
Brittani. Missionary Griffey has reared her family on the faith and 
belief that ``Keeping God first will allow you to get far in life; 
Prayer without ceasing.''
  In her eighty years, Missionary Katherine Griffey has endured many 
tests and trials, but she has survived them all and has come out 
stronger for it. She has survived sickness, heartbreak, ridicule, and 
scorn. She has been shot and her office was fire bombed. She has 
overcome colorectal cancer, heart valve replacement surgery, and 10 
hospitalizations since 2006. Although the load may seem heavy, she 
knows that the Lord would never give us more than we could bear. 
Through it all, her sturdy faith in the Lord was never shaken and her 
mission to win souls for Christ never ceased. She has come a long way 
from the malnourished child with severe asthma to a strong pillar 
firmly grounded in the Lord.
  Always pressing towards the mark for the prize of the high calling of 
God in Christ Jesus, to better improve the craft of Christian ministry 
and discipleship, Missionary Griffey has helped to shape the lives of 
many, including Members of Congress, Governors, Mayors, state 
politicians, foreign leaders, ministers, and lawyers, among others, by 
means

[[Page E1497]]

of counseling, prayer, service, and support. She has had a tremendous 
impact in my own life and I am forever grateful for her counsel, 
guidance, and wisdom. She is truly a nurturer at heart and she loves 
everyone purely and genuinely with both her soul and with the love of 
Jesus.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask that my colleagues join me, my wife Vivian, and 
well wishers all across the world in paying tribute to Missionary 
Katherine Cash Griffey. Ephesians 4:11-12 says, ``So Christ himself 
gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and 
teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of 
Christ may be built up.'' Evangelist Griffey embodies every one of 
these roles and we are so blessed that she was put here on this Earth 
to do so much for so many for so long.

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