[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 8]
[Senate]
[Pages 10660-10661]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                   HONORING REV. DR. MARVIN McMICKLE

 Mr. VOINOVICH. Mr. President, I wish to honor and congratulate 
an outstanding spiritual and community leader from my hometown of 
Cleveland, OH. This year, the Reverend Dr. Marvin A. McMickle is 
celebrating 20 years of service as pastor of Antioch Baptist Church, 
located in the heart of Cleveland's Fairfax neighborhood.
  Founded in 1893, Antioch was the second African-American Baptist 
church established in Cleveland, and for more than a century it has 
sought to fulfill its mission ``to teach the word, provide outreach 
ministries, worship god, evangelize, and build strong church 
relationships.''
  Since its inception, this historical landmark has nurtured leaders 
who have championed civil rights and

[[Page 10661]]

equality for the poor, and it has worked to increase awareness on 
issues of poverty, health care, employment, education, and human 
rights. Today, under McMickle's leadership, Antioch offers over 70 
programs and services to the community, including the Loaves and Fish 
Program, which serves 220 hot meals weekly, the Fellowship Fund, which 
provides emergency financial aid for rent, utilities, and food, the 
Antioch Credit Union, which has assets in excess of $2.5 million, and a 
Head Start program, which offers early childhood preschool.
  In 2002, McMickle and Antioch established the Antioch Development 
Corporation to expand community outreach. The corporation now operates 
two signature programs to help expand community outreach, through 
programs like Agape, which offers HIV/AIDS counseling and testing 
services, and Project RESPECT, a job training and placement program.
  Reverend McMickle is an accomplished author and orator. He has 
written and delivered countless sermons and has applied his gift for 
speaking as a professor of homiletics at the Ashland Theological 
Seminary in Ohio. McMickle has also been a visiting instructor at 
universities in New York, New Jersey, and Ohio, including Ashland 
Theological Seminary in Ashland, OH, Case Western Reserve University in 
Cleveland, and Cleveland State University. He has authored nine books 
and dozens of articles that regularly appear in professional journals 
and magazines. He is a contributing editor for The Living Pulpit and a 
featured writer for the National Baptist Voice, the quarterly journal 
of the National Baptist Convention USA, Inc. His sermons and essays 
regularly appear in Preaching magazine and The African American Pulpit.
  As a leader in the civil rights movement, Reverend McMickle has 
served as president of both the Cleveland NAACP and Urban League. And 
McMickle has also been a leader of numerous government and civic 
organizations, including the Shaker Heights Board of Education and the 
Karamu Performing Arts Center.
  Over the years, I have worked with Reverend McMickle on various 
initiatives and issues of concern to our community. He has been 
particularly instrumental in supporting my efforts as Mayor, Governor, 
and U.S. Senator to prevent casino gambling from taking root in Ohio, 
and I thank him for his support on this issue.
  Throughout all of his accomplishments, his loving and supportive wife 
Peggy, has stood by his side. And everyone who knows them would agree 
that their union is a loving partnership to be admired. Reverend 
McMickle and Peggy have been married for 31 years and have one son, 
Aaron, who is a middle school teacher in New York City.
  Mr. President. I want to take this opportunity to thank Reverend 
McMickle for his exceptional community and spiritual leadership. He has 
done God's work, and our lives are better as a result of having been 
touched by him. I extend my congratulations to him on 20 years as 
pastor of Antioch Baptist Church. May God continue to bless him and his 
family.
  Thank you, Mr. President. I yield the floor.

                          ____________________