[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 16]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 21821]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                    TRIBUTE TO BISHOP JOSEPH JOHNSON

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. JAMES E. CLYBURN

                           of south carolina

                    in the house of representatives

                     Wednesday, September 10, 2003

  Mr. CLYBURN. Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor a man of character and 
grace, Bishop Joseph Johnson. Bishop Johnson serves as the Presiding 
Bishop of the South Atlantic District of the A.M.E. Zion Church, which 
is comprised of five conferences, and as President of the Board of 
Bishops.
  Bishop Johnson's record of service is impeccable. He served in the 
U.S. Army with 15 years experience in the Airborne Division. He has 
served as pastor of A.M.E. Zion Churches in three different North 
Carolina conferences, including seven years as pastor of Trinity A.M.E. 
Zion Church in Southern Pines, North Carolina. After serving as pastor 
of Trinity A.M.E. Zion Church in Greensboro, North Carolina he spent 
four years presiding as Southwestern Delta Episcopal District, which is 
comprised of six conferences.
  But his reputable service extends well outside of the church walls. 
In 1993, Bishop Johnson delivered the Gardner C. Taylor Lecture & 
Preaching Series at Duke University Divinity School. He has published 
``A Manual for Ministerial Studies'' for the A.M.E. Zion Church, in 
addition to several scholarly essays on Christian stewardship 
requisites for ministerial practice. He passed his skills and 
experiences to aspiring ministers when he served for ten years as 
professor of practical ministry at Hood Theological Seminary of 
Livingstone College in North Carolina.
  A native of Jacksonville, Florida, Bishop Johnson grew up in Tampa 
and earned a degree from North Carolina State University. He earned a 
Master of Divinity degree from Duke Divinity School of Duke University.
  Bishop Johnson is married to Dorothy Sharpe Johnson, who now serves 
as missionary supervisor and Episcopal secretary of the South Atlantic 
District of the A.M.E. Zion church. The couple has two sons.
  Mr. Speaker, Bishop Johnson has led an exceptional career dedicated 
to teaching and preaching the virtue of kindness. This year will be the 
last Palmetto Annual Conference where he would preside. He will be 
retiring next year, and deservedly so, as he has already contributed 
more to the betterment of our society than most people could hope for 
in one lifetime. I ask my colleagues to join me today in paying tribute 
to this humanitarian.

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