[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 21]
[Senate]
[Page 29160]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




               RECOGNITION OF MOUNT MORIAH BAPTIST CHURCH

 Mr. NELSON of Nebraska. Madam President, I wish to pay tribute 
to a historic church celebrating its 120th anniversary on November 10 
to 11, 2007. Mount Moriah Baptist Church in Omaha, NE, was founded in 
1887 and continues to thrive as it serves a vast congregation within 
the minority community living in Nebraska's largest city.
  This anniversary is a significant achievement, especially for an 
institution born during a time of racial bigotry and hatred in America. 
The church's founding required the strength, courage, and faith of 
early African-American leaders, who recognized the importance of their 
mission to create a church which has now succeeded in delivering the 
Word of God to generations in three different centuries.
  Mount Moriah Baptist Church has an interesting history. It was first 
organized in 1867, but due to the lack of a Black presence, membership 
declined. Then in 1887, the Reverend Amos Johnson organized a new 
baptist church with just seven members. A name was not immediately 
selected for the newly organized body. Finally, in 1888, the 
parishioners settled on Mount Pisgah Baptist Church. However, in 1897, 
the Enterprise newspaper reported the resignation of the Reverend R. 
January, who asked some of the church members to form a new 
congregation. The remaining members reorganized their congregation as 
the Mount Moriah Missionary Baptist Church.
  Mount Moriah, whose name means ``prepared for God,'' has had to 
survive numerous challenges, including several changes in location and 
a fire which caused significant damage during the mid-1920s. In 1956, 
during the administration of Reverend St. Clair, who served for 20 
years, the church underwent extensive renovations.
  Today, 12 decades after it was formed, Mount Moriah Baptist Church 
remains a focal point in Omaha, NE, just as its namesake, Mount Moriah 
in Jerusalem, has always been a focal point in biblical history.
  I wish to commend Rev. Ralph B. Lassiter, Sr., and the congregation 
of Mount Moriah Baptist Church of Omaha, NE, for continuing the long 
and glorious tradition of teaching the Bible and its meaning and 
training the faithful how to live its message. Your service is truly 
admirable.

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