[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 7]
[House]
[Pages 10067-10068]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                 RECOGNIZING REVEREND KENNETH E. MARCUS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Ms. Clarke). Under a previous order of the 
House, the gentleman from Georgia (Mr. Scott) is recognized for 5 
minutes.
  Mr. SCOTT of Georgia. Madam Speaker, let me first begin by paying 
just a few words to our beloved Senator Edward Kennedy, who is at this 
very moment, as we know, fighting for his life.
  Senator Kennedy is beloved by all of us. He is truly the lion in the 
Senate. Our prayers are with him and his family at this great hour of 
need.
  Madam Speaker, let me just say one word very quickly. This is 
Memorial

[[Page 10068]]

Day, and all of us will be visiting our troops. I know I along with 
other Members of Congress and our entourage will be going over to 
Europe and into the Middle East to see firsthand about our troops, and 
I can't think of a better way to celebrate and commemorate Memorial Day 
than to be over with our troops as they are in harm's way.
  Now, Madam Speaker, let me rise to give recognition to an 
extraordinary American and Georgian and a constituent in my district, 
in the 13th District of Georgia, and that is Pastor Kenneth E. Marcus, 
who is now celebrating his 20th anniversary as pastor of the Turner 
Chapel AME Church in Marietta, Georgia, in Cobb County, in the heart of 
my district. Let me just say a few words about this outstanding 
individual.
  Reverend Marcus was born in Trinidad in the West Indies. He came to 
this country in 1975. Then he went to Morris Brown College and got his 
bachelor's degree from Atlanta University. And, Madam Speaker, it was 
there as a college student that Reverend Marcus received the word and 
the call from God to preach. He then immediately went to Emory 
University in Atlanta, Georgia, where he received his master's degree 
in divinity. And he started off his career in Athens as his first 
assignment at the St. Luke/Nimno Circuit in Athens, Georgia. Then he 
moved on to the Greater Smith Chapel AME in Atlanta, Georgia. And then 
in 1988 this extraordinary Georgian Reverend Kenneth E. Marcus was 
appointed pastor of the Turner Chapel AME Church in Marietta, Georgia.
  And let me just say, Madam Speaker, to show you the significance of 
this individual, when he was appointed there at Turner Chapel in 1988, 
there were just 150 members of that church, and now today, just 20 
years later, that church has a membership of over 6,000 people. That in 
and of itself is testimony to the great leadership and the contribution 
of this outstanding pastor. And this church that he started, he started 
in a high school gymnasium in Cobb County, and now today Turner Chapel 
is in an extraordinary cathedral, a modern edifice of extraordinary 
magnitude which now seats 3,000 members. This is just the testimony of 
this great, great pastor.
  They have over 100 ministries that are serving us throughout Georgia 
and in some parts of this Nation. And we are so proud of Reverend 
Kenneth E. Marcus on his 20th anniversary as the pastor of Turner 
Chapel AME Church in Marietta.
  But he did not do that alone. With God's help, God provided him with 
an extraordinary partner in Ms. Cassandra Young Marcus, who not only is 
his partner and his wife but is also the assistant pastor at Turner 
Chapel. What a great story, what a great American story of achievement 
and attainment, and we are so proud to, in this Congress, celebrate and 
recognize his 20 years of service.
  You know, Madam Speaker, God calls people for various purposes, and 
God each Sunday calls this individual, Reverend Kenneth E. Marcus, and 
gives him utterance to speak boldly as he ought to speak about the 
mysteries of the Gospel. And he does it with boldness and vision and 
inspiration each Sunday.
  And in conclusion, when you talk about greatness, Madam Speaker, and 
in this measure we are talking about a great man in Reverend Marcus, 
that greatness is measured by three people that I would like to 
mention. When the word ``greatness'' or what it means to be a great 
person was put to the great philosopher Aristotle, he said in order to 
be great, you have to, first of all, ``know thyself.'' Well, Reverend 
Marcus not only knows himself but he knows whose he is as well.
  And Marcus Aurelius, the great Roman general, said in order to be 
great, you need to have discipline. But just a measure of moving a 
church from 150 parishioners to 6,000 is that.
  And then, finally, when the question was put to the great Messiah, 
Jesus Christ, Jesus said in order to be great and certainly a great 
minister, you must, first of all, sacrifice yourself. And this is a 
story of a great man who has sacrificed himself so that the world can 
be a better place.
  It is with great pride that this Congress of the United States 
commemorates and recognizes Pastor Marcus on his 20th anniversary as 
the pastor of Turner Chapel AME Church in Marietta, Georgia.
  Mr. CANNON. Madam Speaker, will the gentleman yield?
  Mr. SCOTT of Georgia. Yes, I will.
  Mr. CANNON. I thank the gentleman for yielding.
  Madam Speaker, I simply want to associate myself with the gentleman's 
remarks about our friend Ted Kennedy. I'm going to do a Special Order 
in a little while about energy. I think he would disagree with most of 
what I say, but he would do it in an agreeable fashion. He has been a 
good friend and great legislator. And I want the gentleman to know 
that, with him, my prayers and the prayers of many others on our side 
of the aisle go out to the Senator in this time of great difficulty.
  Mr. SCOTT of Georgia. Absolutely. And as this indicates, Madam 
Speaker, Senator Kennedy is beloved by all of us, both Democrats and 
Republicans.

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