[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 162 (Monday, November 14, 2016)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1439]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      CELEBRATING THE 150TH ANNIVERSARY OF GRACE EPISCOPAL CHURCH

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                          HON. CHARLES W. DENT

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                       Monday, November 14, 2016

  Mr. DENT. Mr. Speaker, I have the privilege of bringing to the 
attention of the House Grace Episcopal Church of Allentown, 
Pennsylvania as it celebrates its 150th anniversary this year.
  Since its earliest days, the Lehigh Valley has been home to a large 
population of German Americans who established Lutheran and Reformed 
congregations throughout the region. With the advent of iron-making, 
however, many British workers began migrating to Allentown, bringing 
their Episcopalian roots with them. To placate their increasing desire 
for a church, Rev. Azariah Prior was sent to Allentown where he led 
Episcopalian services in the Lehigh County Courthouse for three years.
  During that time, the first commercially successful anthracite coal-
powered iron furnace was created in the community now known as 
Catasauqua in 1840. Additional workers were needed, and many from 
Britain joined their fellow countrymen and women in the Lehigh Valley. 
Further north, in Mauch Chunk, Asa Packer--the renowned railroad 
tycoon, Congressman, and founder of Lehigh University--requested 
membership to the Presbyterian Church, but was purportedly rejected due 
to his unwillingness to sign a temperance pledge. The father of 
Packer's chief advisor, William Sayre, encouraged him to become 
Episcopalian. Packer agreed, and the operational headquarters of his 
Lehigh Valley Railroad in South Bethlehem became a gathering point for 
other Episcopalians.
  Finally, in 1865, the construction of Grace Episcopal Church began on 
a lot at the northwest corner of Linden and 5th Street.
  Today, the Church serves as a bastion of support to the surrounding 
community through its ministry and its pre-school through elementary, 
as well as GED, educational programs. It continues to provide a 
spiritual and physical comfort to the surrounding areas in the Lehigh 
Valley.
  I ask the House to join me in offering congratulations to Grace 
Episcopal's congregation, and I wish them another 150 years of 
continued community outreach and spiritual edification.

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