[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 59 (Wednesday, April 22, 2015)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E558]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


           IN HONOR OF THE REVEREND JAMES CALVIN HARRIS, SR.

                                 ______
                                 

                      HON. SANFORD D. BISHOP, JR.

                               of georgia

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, April 22, 2015

  Mr. BISHOP of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor an 
outstanding Man of God who has been a longstanding source of 
inspiration, spiritual guidance, and moral leadership to the Columbus, 
Georgia community, the Reverend James Calvin Harris, Sr. After sixty-
four remarkable years of serving as Pastor of Mount Pilgrim Baptist 
Church in Columbus, Rev. Harris will be retiring this month. A 
celebration of his well-deserved retirement will be held on Saturday, 
April 25, 2015 at 11:00 a.m. at the Columbus Convention and Trade 
Center in Columbus, Georgia.
  James Calvin Harris was born in Lee County, Georgia on April 7, 1925 
to Elijah and Viola Harris as one of seven children. In 1944, at the 
age of 18, he began serving our country with courage and distinction in 
the U.S. Navy during World War II. After the war, Mr. Harris moved to 
Chicago and worked as a baker and dishwasher but later returned to 
Georgia to pursue his education. He attended Albany State University 
and then studied at the American Baptist Theological Seminary in 
Nashville, Tennessee.
  His first church membership was St. Mathew Baptist Church in Lee 
County, which was pastored at the time by the late Reverend Allen A. 
Green. It was by this same pastor that Rev. Harris was licensed to the 
ministry on July 9, 1939 and ordained as a minister on August 10, 1949.
  Early on in his career, he pastored at several churches across 
Georgia, sharing his passion for the teachings of Christ. Following the 
path that God set out for him, Rev. Harris eventually came to call Mt. 
Pilgrim Baptist Church in Columbus his home. When he began preaching at 
the church, it was a small wooden building with only 100 members. 
Thanks to his dedication and enthusiasm, Rev. Harris has been able to 
build the Church's membership to over 1,000 and make several extensive 
renovations and additions.
  Rev. Harris has always been popular with churchgoers because of the 
energy he brings to his sermons. Known by many as the ``singing and 
preaching'' pastor, Rev. Harris even authored and recorded an original 
song, ``God is a Battle Axe.'' During the Civil Rights Movement, the 
Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. often asked him to perform the 
song to offer encouragement at mass meetings. A charismatic evangelical 
leader and pioneer, Rev. Harris' spiritual zeal is both infectious and 
highly contagious.
  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, Rev. Harris has worked tirelessly to promote 
Christian values and put them into action in his community. Throughout 
his career, Rev. Harris has played a leading role in many religious-
affiliated and community-based organizations. He has also been honored 
with various awards and commendations too numerous to list here.
  Rev. Harris has accomplished many things in his life but none of 
these would have been possible without the grace of God and his loving 
wife, Maggie, who met her eternal reward in 2012 after sixty-seven 
years of marriage; their seven children, one of whom is deceased; 
eleven grandchildren; and seven great-grandchildren. On a personal 
note, I have truly been blessed by Rev. Harris' sage counsel and 
enduring friendship over the many years I have known him.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me today in paying tribute 
to the Reverend James Calvin Harris, Sr. for sixty-four wonderful years 
of leadership of Mt. Pilgrim Baptist Church, over seventy-five 
remarkable years of ministry, and a lifetime of selfless service to 
God, the church, and to humankind.

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