[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 148 (Wednesday, September 14, 2022)]
[House]
[Page H7794]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                RECOGNIZING BETHESDA PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
South Carolina (Mr. Norman) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. NORMAN. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the outstanding 
achievement of a very special church, Bethesda Presbyterian Church, 
located in Camden, South Carolina.
  Bethesda Presbyterian Church was established before the American 
Revolutionary War. Its first sanctuary was destroyed during that war, 
and two more were built in 1790 and 1806. The sanctuary present today 
was designed by Robert Mills.
  The edifice is more classical than some of his later work and is one 
of the few surviving ecclesiastical designs. The sanctuary, completed 
over 200 years ago in 1822, is the work of Mills' maturing 
architecture, strongly influenced by Jeffersonian classicism.
  In front of the sanctuary is a monument that is dedicated to the 
memory of Baron DeKalb, a Continental Army soldier killed in 1780 at 
the Battle of Camden. In 1985, the church and the monument were 
declared national historic landmarks.
  Bethesda Presbyterian Church's mission is: ``To know, love, glorify, 
and serve our Lord God.'' The church provides a strong sense of 
community, fellowship, and worship as the members walk in their faith 
journey during both the joyous times and challenging times. I know 
personally that their members experience tremendous personal and 
spiritual growth.
  I am pleased to recognize Bethesda Presbyterian as an outstanding 
church faithfully serving the Camden community and proudly serving as a 
historic landmark in the Fifth District of South Carolina. May God 
continue to bless this church and its congregation.

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