[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 90 (Wednesday, May 24, 2017)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E707]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      IN RECOGNITION OF NATIVITY OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY CHURCH

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. PATRICK MEEHAN

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, May 24, 2017

  Mr. MEEHAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate the Nativity of 
the Blessed Virgin Mary Church in Media, Pennsylvania as it celebrates 
its 150th Anniversary on September 8, 2018.
   In 1868, Father Henry Wright became the first pastor of the Nativity 
of the Blessed Virgin Mary Church. As Media grew, the parish school 
opened its doors in 1912 and soon served many families.
   In the last 25 years, the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Church 
has continued to grow and adopted the motto: The Helping Hands of 
Christ. The growth and development of the church's many ministries are 
a testament to this motto. Its many services include the St. Vincent de 
Paul Society, which provides shelter to the poor of Media, feeding the 
poor at the St. Francis Soup Kitchen monthly, collecting clothes for 
St. John's hospice, making rosaries for those imprisoned, knitting baby 
caps for premature births, and traveling on mission trips to St. Croix 
to aid a sister parish.
   While the number of parishioners has grown immensely in the last one 
hundred and fifty years, the church's facilities and staff have kept 
pace. Most recently, the parish center has been refurbished and they 
have also added a youth Minister to their staff to develop ongoing 
spiritual endeavors for the children of the parish.
   Mr. Speaker, we are grateful to the work of the Nativity of the 
Blessed Virgin Mary Church, its parishioners, and Father Ed Bell, and I 
hope the church will continue to grow and thrive.

                          ____________________