[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 77 (Tuesday, May 4, 2021)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E473]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





   HONORING THE REMARKABLE LIFE OF PASTOR PHILLIP AQUILLA BROOKS, II

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. BRENDA L. LAWRENCE

                              of michigan

                    in the house of representatives

                          Tuesday, May 4, 2021

  Mrs. LAWRENCE. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the remarkable 
life of Pastor Phillip Aquilla Brooks, II, a man who dedicated his life 
to public service and to his church community for nearly seven decades.
  Pastor Brooks was born on December 21, 1931, after his older 
brothers, Jesse and Cecil, and followed by his little sister, Barbara 
Jean. In 1949, he moved from Chicago, Illinois, to Detroit, Michigan, 
to pursue his religious calling and after meeting the love of his life. 
Phillip Brooks married Doris Brooks on February 2, 1952, and they 
enjoyed an astounding 68 years of marriage. With his wife and his 
mother-in-law, Pastor Brooks established the New St. Paul Tabernacle 
Church Of God In Christ in Detroit, which he would go on to lead for 66 
incredible years.
  Under Pastor Brooks' guiding hand, the New St. Paul Tabernacle Church 
Of God In Christ grew in both membership and expanded its evangelical 
reach. Pastor Brooks purchased the church's first building in April 
1969. He later established the March of Faith Telecast and Radio 
Ministry, which operated for more than four decades, and ministered to 
millions across the nation in homes, hospital rooms, and prisons. 
Adding to an already impressive career of service, Pastor Brooks was 
consecrated Jurisdictional prelate of the Northeast Michigan 
Jurisdiction in 1975 following a recommendation by his mentor, the late 
Pastor C.J. Johnson, Sr. He served 45 years as jurisdictional prelate--
the longest serving Pastor in both the Northeast Michigan Jurisdiction 
and in the history of the Church of God in Christ in Michigan. In 1984, 
Pastor Brooks was once again recognized for his service and elected to 
the General Board of the Presidium of the Church of God in Christ, 
where he served for 36 years. His tenure on the Presidium was the 
longest of any Board Member, past or present, and he held multiple 
leadership positions with grace.
  Pastor Brooks' service did not end at the Michigan border. He 
spearheaded and assisted in raising funds for people affected by the 9/
11 World Trade Center terrorist attack in New York and Hurricane 
Katrina in New Orleans. Additionally, he also established the nation's 
first Blue Cross/Blue Shield Program for local pastors, which created 
the first life insurance programs for local pastors and their spouses. 
Pastor Brooks was also the first African-American pastor to broadcast 
on television in Detroit, Michigan--a broadcast that aired on WGPR 62, 
the first Black-owned television station in the country.
  Pastor Brooks will be sorely missed, but his decades of service in 
the Church of God in Christ in Michigan will never be forgotten.

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