[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 12]
[Senate]
[Page 16053]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




 CONGRATULATING THE SOUTHERN BAPTIST CONVENTION FOR ELECTING REVEREND 
                     FRED LUTER, JR., AS PRESIDENT

  Mr. LEVIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Judiciary 
Committee be discharged from consideration of S. Res. 518 and that the 
Senate proceed to its consideration.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The clerk will report the resolution by title.
  The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       A resolution (S. Res. 518) congratulating the Southern 
     Baptist Convention for electing Reverend Fred Luter, Jr., as 
     the president of the Southern Baptist Convention, 
     acknowledging Reverend Luter's unique role as the first 
     African-American leader of the Southern Baptist Convention, 
     and honoring the commitment of the Southern Baptist 
     Convention to an inclusive faith-based community and society.

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the 
resolution.
  Mr. LEVIN. I ask unanimous consent that the resolution be agreed to, 
the preamble be agreed to, the motions to reconsider be laid upon the 
table, with no intervening action or debate, and that any statements 
related to the resolution be printed in the Record.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The resolution (S. Res. 518) was agreed to.
  The preamble was agreed to.
  The resolution, with its preamble, reads as follows:

                              S. Res. 518

       Whereas the Southern Baptist Convention formed in 1845 in 
     Augusta, Georgia, in opposition to the abolition of slavery;
       Whereas the Southern Baptist Convention supported racial 
     segregation for much of the twentieth century;
       Whereas the Southern Baptist Convention issued a resolution 
     stating that the Convention sought to purge itself and 
     society of all racism in 1978;
       Whereas the Southern Baptist Convention issued a resolution 
     denouncing racism as a deplorable sin in 1995;
       Whereas, in 2012, the Southern Baptist Convention is a 
     cooperative of more than 45,000 churches that seek diligently 
     to bring about greater racial and ethnic representation at 
     every level of Southern Baptist institutional life;
       Whereas Reverend Fred Luter, Jr., was born on November 11, 
     1956, in New Orleans, Louisiana;
       Whereas Reverend Luter preached his first church sermon in 
     1983 at the Law Street Baptist Church in New Orleans, 
     Louisiana;
       Whereas Reverend Luter became the pastor of Franklin Avenue 
     Baptist Church in 1986;
       Whereas, under the leadership of Reverend Luter, the 
     Franklin Avenue Baptist Church community grew from 65 members 
     in 1986 to more than 7,000 members in 2005;
       Whereas the Franklin Avenue Baptist Church was destroyed in 
     2005 by Hurricane Katrina and lost approximately 2,000 
     members;
       Whereas Reverend Luter, in cooperation with Reverend David 
     Crosby, found a temporary home for Franklin Avenue Baptist 
     Church during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina;
       Whereas, continuing that spirit of cooperation, Reverend 
     Crosby nominated Reverend Luter to become president of the 
     Southern Baptist Convention;
       Whereas Reverend Luter was elected to be the first African-
     American president of the Southern Baptist Convention on June 
     19, 2012; and
       Whereas the election of Reverend Luter brings great pride 
     and honor to the membership of the Southern Baptist 
     Convention: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) congratulates the Southern Baptist Convention for 
     electing Reverend Fred Luter, Jr., as the president of the 
     Southern Baptist Convention;
       (2) acknowledges Reverend Luter's unique role as the first 
     African-American leader of the Southern Baptist Convention; 
     and
       (3) honors the commitment of the Southern Baptist 
     Convention to an inclusive faith-based community and society.

                          ____________________