[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 3 (Tuesday, January 7, 2020)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E6-E7]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               TRIBUTE TO REVEREND DR. MARTHA R. OVERALL

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. JOSE E. SERRANO

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, January 7, 2020

  Mr. SERRANO. Madam Speaker, it is with great pleasure that I rise 
today to pay tribute to Reverend Martha R. Overall, known to all as 
Mother Martha. As she retires from her position as Priest In Charge of 
St. Ann's Episcopal Church in my district, I want to take a moment to 
honor her for her decades of compassionate service and tireless work to 
improve the lives of our Bronx residents.
  Rev. Overall was born in 1947. She received a Bachelor of Arts with 
Honors from Harvard University, a J.D. from New York University, and 
was admitted to the Bar in 1976. She practiced law with prominent trial 
attorney, Louis Nizer, for several years. She retired

[[Page E7]]

from her legal career in the mid-eighties to attend Union Theological 
Seminary and was ordained an Episcopal priest in 1991.
  Rev. Overall began serving as the Priest of St. Ann's Episcopal 
Church in 1993. Built in 1841, the Parish is the oldest continuously 
used church in the Bronx and it has a storied history. During her 
tenure as priest, Mother Martha has expanded upon that legacy. The 
church holds weekly services in English and Spanish, and members of the 
church help serve meals to homeless seniors and families in the 
surrounding community. The food pantry program operates twice a week 
and feeds over 6,000 people a month. The church also has an after-
school program to enhance skills for children and provide them healthy 
meals and nutritional education. Reverend Overall also provided job 
opportunities to young adults interested in teaching through the 
Children's Defense Fund Freedom School at St. Ann's Episcopal Church. 
Many of these programs, and Reverend Overall's work, have been featured 
in books and in the press.
  Through all of this, Mother Martha has been a passionate advocate for 
our community, from children to seniors. She has worked every day to 
improve our borough, and the lives of those who live here. Her 
compassion and dedication have positively affected the lives of 
thousands of people.
  The Bronx is a better place because of the work Rev. Overall has done 
over the years. Madam Speaker, I ask that my colleagues join me in 
honoring The Reverend Dr. Martha R. Overall for her extraordinary work 
and her lasting legacy.

                          ____________________