[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 7]
[House]
[Page 9239]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



  WELCOMING REVEREND ALPHEUS TOWNSEND TO THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

  (Mr. ENGEL asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Speaker, it is my great pleasure today to introduce my 
good friend, my constituent, and my minister who gave the prayer this 
morning, Reverend Alpheus Townsend of the Unity Temple of Peace in my 
district in the Bronx, New York.
  Pastor Townsend is a wonderful American success story. He resides in 
my District with his wife Millicent and son William, and is truly a 
champion, living the American dream, as so many immigrants who have 
come to our shores and helped to make our country the great Nation that 
it is.
  Reverend Townsend was born in Jamaica and came to the United States 
in 1965 and worked at a number of jobs in New York, at Bankers Trust on 
Wall Street for 5 years as an operations specialist and at Lenox Hill 
Hospital in Manhattan. But he knew that the ministry was really his 
call.
  He attended Unity Ministerial School in Missouri and was ordained in 
1981. He founded the Unity Temple of Peace in the Bronx, New York, in 
my district, in 1982 and continues to pastor there.
  Just recently, he was elected president of the Clergy Coalition of 
the 47th Precinct in the Northeast Bronx, which serves all five 
boroughs of New York City. It is a wonderful organization, assists 
many, many people, young, old, all types of people. He assisted in 
writing the bylaws and charter for the organization.
  He has provided college scholarships to high school students, and I 
have been pleased to work with him in this regard and to contribute to 
these scholarships because young people, as we know, of course, are our 
future. And Pastor Townsend has especially ministered to young people. 
He has worked with the council and the community and works with the 
police to enhance the quality of life in the community.
  Mr. Speaker, I am honored and privileged to not only call Pastor 
Townsend, my constituent, but am honored and privileged to call him my 
friend. We have worked very, very closely together. He honors me and 
all of us with his presence today.
  I thank the Speaker for allowing him to give the prayer this morning 
so that the entire House of Representatives and, indeed the entire 
country of the United States, can see what a wonderful pastor he is and 
how truly he is doing God's work and truly doing work for all of us.
  Again, it is people like the Reverend Townsend who have come here to 
this country as an immigrant, who have participated and have really 
helped to make this country the great country that it is. I thank the 
reverend.

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