[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 3]
[House]
[Page 3853]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                   WELCOMING REV. W. JAMES THOMAS, II

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Without objection, the gentleman from 
Tennessee (Mr. Cohen) is recognized for 1 minute.
  There was no objection.
  Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, our pastor today was Pastor W. James Thomas, 
II.
  Pastor Thomas is God's visionary for Shiloh Church of Memphis, 
located in Memphis, Tennessee. Serving as pastor since 1994, his 
consistent obedience to God has taken the Shiloh congregation from 
glory to glory. The membership has grown from 75 to 600 and counting. 
During these years, Pastor Thomas has been preaching and teaching God's 
uncompromising Word with a boldness that has changed the lives of the 
people at Shiloh and throughout the country.
  To accommodate the vision and growth of the church membership, Pastor 
Thomas led the congregation in the acquisition of a 19,000 square foot 
worship and educational facility in 1998. In 2003, the sanctuary was 
completely renovated and office complex expanded.
  Spiritually, Pastor Thomas was saved and received much of his 
spiritual development in the Church of God in Christ. He was called to 
the ministry at the age of 14 and began pastoring at the age of 18 in 
Knoxville, Tennessee. He graduated cum laude from Crichton College in 
Memphis with a bachelor of science degree in Biblical studies and is 
currently a candidate for the master of divinity degree. He has also 
attended and received degrees from Harvard University and Yale 
University, where he had completed the first Graduate School of 
Theological Studies' special intensive course at Harvard Divinity 
School in Cambridge and the Yale School of Divinity in September 2006.
  He's very active in our community in Memphis, Tennessee. He is 
married to Minister Antonia R. Thomas, who serves alongside him in the 
ministry. And even possibly as important or more important than this 
congregation, he has two children. One is Private First Class Reginald 
Cleveland, who is an officer and security person for this Chamber, from 
Memphis, Tennessee, who is here today; and he has a daughter in middle 
school.
  I appreciate Pastor Thomas serving the United States House of 
Representatives as our pastor this morning.

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