[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 11]
[Senate]
[Page 15098]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS

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      PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE AFRICAN METHODIST EPISCOPAL ZION CHURCH

 Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, today I wish to recognize and 
congratulate the Pennsylvania Avenue African Methodist Episcopal, AME, 
Zion Church in Baltimore as the congregation celebrates the church's 
170th anniversary. Founded on May 31, 1841, Pennsylvania Avenue AME 
Zion Church has flourished for many decades under the guidance and 
spiritual leadership of its anointed pastors since it was founded on 
May 31, 1841.
  Records from 1904 reveal that Reverend B.J. Bolding and 200 church 
members purchased Zion's first building at 1125 Pennsylvania Avenue for 
$16,000. Reverend Bolding served for 27 years until Rev. George Marion 
Edwards became the pastor in May 1931. Twenty-eight years later, on 
October 4, 1959, Rev. Clinton Rueben Coleman was chosen as Zion's new 
spiritual leader and served during the tumultuous years of the civil 
rights movement. Reverend Coleman was responsible for the renovation of 
the old Zion Church building and started the course toward planning and 
building a new church building. On May 12, 1972, he was elected to the 
AME Zion Church's 12-member Board of Bishops, the denomination's 72nd 
bishop in succession.
  In 1972, Rev. Marshall H. Strickland was selected to lead Zion, and 
the journey continued towards constructing a new church. Three years 
later, Reverend Strickland led the groundbreaking ceremony at the 
southwest corner of Pennsylvania Avenue and Dolphin Street. On Sunday, 
April 10, 1977, after 16 years of vision, perseverance, and hard work, 
a jubilant congregation marched into the new church building. Eleven 
years later, on May 15, 1988, the mortgage note for the church was 
burned. On July 31, 1992, Reverend Strickland was elected the 88th 
bishop in succession in the AME Zion Church.
  In September 1992, continuing the legacy of an historic church with 
great spiritual leaders, the Reverend Dr. Dennis Vernon Proctor was 
appointed pastor of the Pennsylvania Avenue AME Zion Church. Dr. 
Proctor's leadership and pastoral abilities, steadfastly applied for 
over a decade, increased the church's membership to over 1,800 
congregants. After 16 years of faithful service to Zion Church, Dr. 
Proctor was elected the 97th bishop in succession during the 
Quadrennial Convention in Atlanta, GA, on July 18, 2008.
  On September 14, 2008, less than 2 months before our Nation elected 
its first African American President, the Right Reverend Warren M. 
Brown, presiding prelate of the Mid-Atlantic II Episcopal District, 
announced the current pastor of the Pennsylvania Avenue AME Zion 
Church, Rev. Lester Agyei McCorn, to a standing-room-only congregation.
  Pennsylvania Avenue AME Zion Church, located in Baltimore's Upton 
community, is committed to providing spiritual leadership and support 
to help people overcome the political, social, and educational 
struggles affecting them in the communities that the church serves. It 
is a Kingdom-focused church, whose legacy continues with a renewed 
vision to make new disciples, help believers to mature in their faith, 
and multiply outreach and service ministries.
  I encourage all Senators to join me in congratulating Pennsylvania 
Avenue AME Zion Church on its 170th anniversary and its even brighter 
future.

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