[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 64 (Thursday, May 1, 2014)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E651]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


              IN HONOR OF BETHEL MISSIONARY BAPTIST CHURCH

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                             HON. SAM FARR

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 1, 2014

  Mr. FARR. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commemorate the 60th 
Anniversary of Bethel Missionary Baptist Church in Seaside, California. 
Over the course of the last half century, Bethel Missionary Baptist 
Church has become a community pillar of the Monterey Peninsula. Service 
and love are the hallmarks of its congregants and leadership. I can say 
with unshakeable confidence that the people of Bethel Missionary 
Baptist Church will continue to be a beacon of service, compassion, and 
faith in God for another sixty years and beyond.
   In 1954, several leaders from Seaside and surrounding communities 
came together to found a new church. They included Mrs. William Irving, 
Amy Robinson, Lenora Bean, members of the Felix family, the late 
Reverend G.E. Ellis, the late Reverend W.F. Bailey, and the Reverend 
J.W. Harris. The late Reverend G.E. Ellis offered prayer and the group 
selected the name for the new church that had been suggested the late 
Sister Edna Felix.
   In April 1954, Bethel Missionary Baptist Church services commenced 
under the leadership of its first Pastor, the Reverend J.W. Harris, at 
its first Seaside location at 1251 Broadway. The late Reverend J.W. 
Paige then assumed helm of the Church and helped it grow its 
congregation and acquire property for a permanent location. Two 
additional pastors followed in quick succession. The Reverend A.E. 
Johnson and the Reverend Elroy Day each brought their own particular 
gift to the Church community, including helping the Church move to 390 
Elm Avenue, Seaside, the location that it still calls home today.
   In 1961, the Reverend H.H. Lusk, Sr. assumed the pastoral duties of 
Bethel Missionary Baptist Church. The Church community was still small 
at that time, just 60 members. Under his spiritual and temporal 
leadership, the Bethel family found many new members. It quickly 
outgrew its facilities and in 1975, under Reverend Lusk's leadership, 
the old sanctuary was demolished and replaced with the current 
sanctuary and classrooms.
   Mr. Speaker, the story of Bethel Missionary Baptist Church is a 
great American story of a family of faith growing from humble 
beginnings to become a pillar of the community. I know I speak for the 
whole House in congratulating Reverend H.H. Lusk, Sr. and the whole 
Bethel Missionary Baptist Church family on 60 years of success and I 
look forward to many more.

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