[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 40 (Wednesday, March 6, 2019)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E257-E258]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       HONORING THE 136TH ANNIVERSARY OF EBENEZER BAPTIST CHURCH

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. GERALD E. CONNOLLY

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, March 6, 2019

  Mr. CONNOLLY. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the 136th 
anniversary of Ebenezer Baptist Church.
  Ebenezer Baptist Church was founded by Reverend Lewis Henry Bailey. 
After being separated from his family in Alexandria, Virginia, Lewis 
Henry Bailey was sold into slavery and was enslaved in Texas throughout 
his youth and early adulthood. Once Bailey was freed, he walked from 
Texas to Virginia to rejoin his family. He found employment with a 
railroad company and later graduated from Wayland College. In 1882, he 
was ordained as an itinerant minister at Ebenezer Baptist Church in 
Alexandria. With aspirations of sharing the Gospel with residents of 
the Town of Occoquan, Reverend Bailey walked to and from the town to 
hold religious services for the black members of the community. In 
appreciation of his tireless efforts, white members of

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the community provided land for a church and a place for Reverend 
Bailey to live. The Clerk of the Court for Prince William County 
approved the deed on March 8, 1883, and Ebenezer Baptist Church 
celebrates its anniversary on the first Sunday of March in recognition 
of this momentous occasion.
  Bailey started the New School in Occoquan, serving as a precursor to 
the establishment of the New School Baptist Church, which later became 
Ebenezer Baptist Church. The cornerstone of the church was laid on the 
first Sunday in May 1883 and the building was dedicated in 1885. 
Reverend Bailey, who had long been the inspiration and driving force 
for the establishment of this church, led the congregation from 1885-
1891.
  The church has endured setbacks and faced community challenges during 
its 136 year history. After the original church structure burned to the 
ground in 1923, Ebenezer Baptist Church was rebuilt in 1924 where it 
remains today in the same historical site. The church was also 
instrumental in the integration of the county's public schools in the 
1960s, as well as several other Civil Rights accomplishments. I was 
honored to include the oral histories of three members of Ebenezer 
Baptist Church in my Northern Virginia Civil Rights Archive project.
  Throughout its history, Ebenezer Baptist Church has been led by 
pastors who have served the church and the congregation faithfully. 
Their most recent pastor, Reverend Charles A. Lundy, was called to the 
pulpit to lead the church and has done so righteously since June 23, 
1990. Under Reverend Lundy's leadership, Ebenezer Baptist Church has 
flourished and its membership has expanded from 120 members to more 
than 800 today. To accommodate this growing church family, weekly 
worship at Ebenezer Baptist Church has been relocated to Telegraph 
Road. Ebenezer Baptist Church has been and remains a monumental, 
historical, and spiritual structure in our community.
  Madam Speaker, I ask that my colleagues join me in celebrating the 
136th anniversary of Ebenezer Baptist Church and in thanking the church 
and congregation for their contributions to our community.

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