[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 175 (Monday, November 14, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Page S6664]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                TRIBUTE TO BISHOP CHARLES E. BLAKE, SR.

 Mr. PADILLA. Mr. President, I rise today to congratulate 
Bishop Charles E. Blake, Sr., on a lifetime of service to his community 
and a career of caring for others.
  Bishop Blake has served as pastor of the West Angeles Church of God 
in Christ for 53 years--53 years as a pillar of Crenshaw and South Los 
Angeles.
  While it may be hard to believe, there was a time before the name 
Blake was synonymous with Crenshaw. Charles E. Blake, Sr., was born in 
Little Rock, AR, into a family of faith. His father was a preacher and 
well-respected leader in the Pentecostal faith. Both Charles and his 
brother, J.A., would go on to preach in the Church of God in Christ.
  After his family moved to California and notably after his first 
sermon at the age of 16, he attended California Western University and 
subsequently earned his master's degree at the Interdenominational 
Theological Center in Atlanta. It was there--as student body president, 
surrounded by Black students and faculty, and as a leader of student 
civil rights marches in Selma and Montgomery--where he began to see the 
strength of Black community power.
  In 1969, he became senior pastor of West Angeles Church, where his 
powerful sermons from a pulpit in South Los Angeles grew his 
congregation rapidly and brought together the community. By 1999, what 
had once been a 300-person church on 5th Avenue and Adams Boulevard had 
grown to require the construction of the ornate, 5,000-seat West 
Angeles Cathedral.
  Bishop Blake's unwavering faith and exalted message of devotion 
earned his election as presiding bishop of the Church of God in Christ 
four times, representing millions of worshippers around the globe. It 
also led to his appointment by President Obama to the Inaugural 
Advisory Council on Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships.
  But to countless families in South Los Angeles, whether attending a 
Sunday service or watching the Crenshaw corridor grow around them, his 
commitment to his community is what is most memorable. Over his decades 
of leadership, he brought to Crenshaw affordable housing, a performing 
arts theater, and a K-12 school; encouraged economic growth and 
businesses that provided jobs to Angelenos; created programs to lift up 
Black men with educational and financial literacy resources; and 
secured invaluable attention and resources for neighborhoods in South 
Los Angeles.
  He invested in the Crenshaw corridor when it needed it most, and we 
thank him for his faith and service.
  All of California wishes him and his wife, Lady Mae L. Blake, well in 
retirement, and we wish his son, Charles E. Blake II, luck in his new 
role as senior pastor.

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