[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 20]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 28763]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




       TRIBUTE TO MOUNT OLIVE AFRICAN METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. JAMES E. CLYBURN

                           of south carolina

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, October 30, 2007

  Mr. CLYBURN. Madam Speaker, Mount Olive African Methodist Episcopal 
Church of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina will commemorate its 100 years 
of Christian service at a Centennial Anniversary banquet on November 
17, 2007.
  Mount Olive AME had a very humble beginning. A small group of 
faithful African American Christians came together in the Myrtle Beach 
area in the late 1800s and constructed a one-room structure known as 
the Bush Shelter. It was in this simple building that this group met to 
worship under the leadership of Reverend Jackson Hemingway.
  In 1907, this group joined with other Christians in the area to 
organize Mount Olive AME Church. Three years later, a new church was 
built on the site of the old Myrtle Beach High School Baseball Field. 
Bishop B.F. Lee led the dedication of the new 1-room, wood framed 
church. Reverend H.B. Salters was the leader of the congregation, and 
later became a bishop in the AME Church as well. Under his leadership, 
the church also served as a school for local Black children who 
attended school only 6 weeks to 5 months each year.
  After a period of significant growth the church moved to a new 
location on Carver Street. In 1959, the parishioners' dreams of a new 
sanctuary were realized.
  In 1973, the church was expanded to include an education building. 
The expanded facility enabled Mount Olive AME to host its first annual 
conference for the AME churches in the Marion District. This new 
structure also helped the church grow its education mission. One source 
of great pride are the church's youth programs, which provide Christian 
fellowship among young people. The year long programs usually culminate 
with an annual Christian retreat at Allen University in Columbia, South 
Carolina.
  The church has grown other missions including Sunday School, Women's 
Missionary Society, Sons of Allen youth leadership mentoring, a media 
ministry which provides video and audio cassettes to the sick and shut-
in, and a street ministry to those needing spiritual guidance.
  The church also has outreach programs that serve to better the 
community as well. Members of Mount Olive AME provide assistance to 
help community members with their housing needs, utility bills, job 
referrals, drug counseling, voter registration, parenting skills, and 
the church voluntarily stocks a food pantry. Under the dynamic 
leadership of Reverend Roger I. Washington since 1998, Mount Olive AME 
continues to uphold the vision of its founders.
  Madam Speaker, I invite you and my colleagues to join me in 
commending Mount Olive AME Church for a century of faithful service. 
Its members continue to be beacons of hope in Myrtle Beach. They 
provide compassion and care for not only its members but also the least 
among them. I congratulate Mount Olive AME for its rich 100 year 
history, and I look forward to seeing the good works of the church as 
it continues to grow and serve the Myrtle Beach community.

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