[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 137 (Friday, August 18, 2023)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E783]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





        TRIBUTE TO OHIO WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY'S GOSPEL LYRES CHOIR

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. JIM JORDAN

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, August 18, 2023

  Mr. JORDAN. Mr. Speaker, I am honored to commend to the House the 
50th anniversary of the first concert of Ohio Wesleyan University's 
Gospel Lyres Choir.
  From its founding in October of 1972 by students Cheryl Smith and 
Marteal Pitts, the Gospel Lyres Choir provided a place for African 
American students at Ohio Wesleyan to gather in fellowship and 
friendship and to use their musical gifts to praise God. At its debut 
concert on campus on November 4, 1973, the Choir numbered an impressive 
22 members.
  Through the years, Choir members served as unofficial ambassadors of 
Ohio Wesleyan, performing at churches not just in the city of Delaware, 
Ohio, but across our great state and beyond. Its members formed strong, 
lifelong bonds as they touched countless lives with the Gospel message 
they shared through their music.
  Mr. Speaker, Choir alumni will gather on campus during Ohio 
Wesleyan's homecoming weekend this October for a reunion concert and 
celebration. On behalf of the people of Ohio's Fourth Congressional 
District, I thank the members of the Gospel Lyres Choir for 
contributing so richly to the musical landscape of our great state. I 
wish them all the best as they mark their golden anniversary.

                          ____________________