[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 17]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 23877]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




       A WELL-DESERVED TRIBUTE TO THE REVEREND HOWARD M. HAYWOOD

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. BARNEY FRANK

                            of massachusetts

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, October 2, 2008

  Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts. Madam Speaker, on November 23rd, the 
congregation of the Myrtle Baptist Church, joined by many of the 
citizens of Newton, and indeed of the greater Boston area, will pay a 
bittersweet tribute to the Reverend Howard Haywood, commemorating the 
exemplary service he has provided to that congregation--and to the 
community at large--for more than two decades.
  Reverend Haywood took over as pastor of the Myrtle Baptist Church in 
1985. His formal role ended in July of this year, and the many people 
that he served, comforted and inspired are gathering to honor him. At a 
time when questions of the appropriateness of the size of compensation 
have been an important topic in this House, I think it worthy of noting 
that Reverend Haywood took no compensation at all for the extraordinary 
work that he has done.
  Under his leadership, the Myrtle Baptist Church has become a source 
of help for people from all generations and walks of life. In the 
terrible aftermath of Katrina, when the Federal Government failed so 
many people, under the Reverend Haywood's leadership the Myrtle Baptist 
Church did an extraordinary amount to provide the assistance that 
people needed. From this relatively small congregation, two truck loads 
of food, clothing and gifts were dispatched and noncongregate students 
from the surrounding colleges were so inspired by this that they joined 
the effort.
  While Howard Haywood's works are truly impressive, the greatest gift 
he has given all of us is the example of a man of considerable talent 
dedicating that talent to bettering the lives of others and providing a 
wonderful example of religion and religious service at its best.
  Madam Speaker, I am glad to hold out to the Nation the example of 
Howard Haywood, and I look forward to participating in the event in 
which I and many others will tell him how much we appreciate his work.

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