[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 10 (Thursday, January 16, 2014)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E91]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         IN RECOGNITION OF SENIOR PRESIDING ELDER ELIJAH SMITH

                                 ______
                                 

                      HON. SANFORD D. BISHOP, JR.

                               of georgia

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, January 16, 2014

  Mr. BISHOP of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to 
Presiding Elder Elijah Smith, who will be retiring as Senior Presiding 
Elder of the Eastern District for the Southwest Georgia Annual 
Conference for the African Methodist Episcopal Church after forty-nine 
years of faithful and dedicated service to the Lord. He will be honored 
at a retirement celebration on Friday, January 17, 2014 at 7:00 p.m. at 
the Columbus Convention and Trade Center in Columbus, Georgia.
  A native of Fort Valley, Georgia and a man after God's own heart, 
Presiding Elder Smith began serving the ministry in the early 1960s. 
After being ordained an Itinerant Elder in 1967, he spent twenty-seven 
years pastoring various congregations in the Southwest Georgia 
Conference, including Eastman Circuit, Allen Chapel in Americus, 
Mountain Creek in Sumter County, and Saint John in Columbus. Under his 
leadership as pastor, the Saint John A.M.E. Church chapel was built on 
Steam Mill Road in Columbus. In June 1994, Bishop Donald George Kenneth 
Ming appointed him as a presiding elder. For many years, Presiding 
Elder Smith served as an instructor and assistant dean of the Board of 
Examiners in the Southwest Georgia Conference.
  Presiding Elder Smith's commitment to the ministry and support of 
civil rights led him to be a notable minister among other African 
American ministers rising up to challenge the segregation laws and 
suppression of voting rights in the South. After serving as president 
of the Sumter County Branch of the NAACP, he was recognized as an NAACP 
Life Member.
  In addition to being a servant of God, Presiding Elder Smith was a 
civil servant and retired from Robins Air Force Base as an electronic 
technician.
  A widely respected civic, community, and ministerial leader, 
Presiding Elder Smith has received numerous accolades and 
commendations. He was honored as one of the ``50 Most Influential 
African Americans in the Columbus-Ft. Benning-Phenix City Areas'' by 
the Courier Eco Latino.
  Presiding Elder Smith, a man highly favored by God, has accomplished 
many things in his life, but none of this would have been possible 
without the love and support of his wife, Janet, and their nine 
children.
  Mr. Speaker, today I ask my colleagues to join me, my wife Vivian, 
and the Columbus, Georgia community in paying tribute to Senior 
Presiding Elder Elijah Smith for forty-nine outstanding years of 
Pastoral Ministry. Through his service to God's people, he has 
transformed many lives and inspired others to serve our Lord and Savior 
Jesus Christ.

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