[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 13]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 18367]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]


 CONGRATULATING THE EBENEZER MISSIONARY BAPTIST CHURCH OF HALLANDALE, 
                 FLORIDA ON ITS CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY

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                         HON. ALCEE L. HASTINGS

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, July 20, 2009

  Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Madam Speaker, I rise to congratulate the 
Ebenezer Missionary Baptist Church of Hallandale, Florida, on its 
centennial anniversary. In 1909 the church was founded under a rubber 
tree and counted only three students in its Sunday School class. Since 
then it has grown into a pillar of the community with broad outreach to 
those seeking spiritual guidance, religious education, social linkages, 
and help with their lives.
  Throughout the past 100 years Ebenezer has stood up for the 
disadvantaged and disenfranchised, offering those in need of help 
comfort, care, and assistance. As the oldest church in the community, 
Ebenezer has been at the forefront of social and political changes in 
south Florida. The church and its members were active in the Civil 
Rights Movement and played an important role in the desegregation of 
the Broward County school system in the 1960s. The church and its 
leaders have continued the fight for equal rights and equal 
opportunity.
  Although the Ebenezer Missionary Baptist Church is no longer located 
in my congressional district, I am pleased to call its leaders and 
members my friends. The community of Ebenezer has been there for me at 
many points in my life and I am grateful for their support and 
friendship these many years.
  Madam Speaker, for 100 years now the Ebenezer Missionary Baptist 
Church has ably served the community around Hallandale, Florida. Under 
the leadership of its past pastors, and its current leader, the Revered 
Joe C. Johnson, the church has expanded its membership, performed good 
works in the south Florida region, and uplifted the members of its 
community. I wish the church, its leaders, and its members the best of 
luck in their future endeavors.

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