[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 72 (Thursday, April 27, 2017)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E556-E557]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                RECOGNIZING PASTOR WALLSTONE E. FRANCIS

                                 ______
                                 

                      HON. BRADLEY SCOTT SCHNEIDER

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, April 27, 2017

  Mr. SCHNEIDER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize an accomplished 
individual, a distinguished pillar of our community, and a personal 
friend, Pastor Wallstone E. Francis, on the occasion of his 25th 
anniversary as pastor of Shiloh Baptist Church in Waukegan, Illinois. 
For 25 years, Pastor Francis has shared his

[[Page E557]]

passion, his vision and his dedication to scripture and service, not 
just with his church but with the entire community.
  Pastor Francis was born in Nassau, Bahamas, and moved to the United 
States in 1971. After earning a Bachelor of Theology and Bachelor of 
Arts Degrees from American Baptist College of American Baptist 
Theological Seminary in Nashville, Tennessee and an Honorary Doctor of 
Divinity Degree from Selma University, in Selma, Alabama, Pastor 
Francis began his ministry in Smyrna, Tennessee and later Franklin, 
Kentucky.
  On May 3, 1992, Pastor Francis was installed as pastor of Shiloh 
Baptist Church. In his two and a half decades of service, Pastor 
Francis has become known as an incisive teacher of the Scripture, a 
dedicated minister to his congregation, and an upstanding leader in his 
community. In addition to his Christian ministry, Pastor Francis gives 
back through his service on the Waukegan Civil Service Commission and 
as a volunteer Chaplain at Victory Memorial Hospital and the Lake 
County Jail.
  Pastor Francis has been blessed with more than forty years of 
marriage to Mrs. Angelia Rene Otey William. Their loving family 
includes grown children and grandchildren, including children who came 
to the family as foster children. I am also honored to celebrate their 
commitment to foster care.
  Illinois's Tenth District and the Waukegan community is lucky for 
Pastor Francis's leadership. On this moment of anniversary, I wish him, 
his family, and the entire Shiloh Baptist Church community all the best 
in the years to come.

                          ____________________