[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 3]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 3554-3555]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




       TRIBUTE TO REVEREND CANON THOMAS WILSON STEARLY LOGAN, SR.

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. CHAKA FATTAH

                            of pennsylvania

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, March 16, 2012

  Mr. FATTAH. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to a 
distinguished member of the Philadelphia clergy who is achieving a 
milestone that is worthy of recognition and admiration in the people's 
House.

[[Page 3555]]

  The Reverend Canon Thomas Wilson Stearly Logan, Sr., will celebrate 
his 100th birthday on March 19, and even more remarkable, he is still 
going strong.
  Reverend Canon Logan's career as one of Philadelphia's most prominent 
and honored Episcopal ministers is highlighted by 44 years as Rector of 
Calvary Northern Liberties Church and its predecessors, St. Michael's 
and Calvary Monumental churches. Since reaching mandatory retirement 
age in 1984, he continues to be active and holds the title of Rector 
Emeritus. He remains on the go, known by all for his lively and 
friendly manner and a voice that commands attention.
  Reverend Canon Logan's life has been one of accomplishment from his 
birth in Philadelphia in 1912, the son of a minister and a teacher and 
one of eight siblings who would ultimately finish college. He is a 1935 
graduate of Lincoln University, and was ordained for Episcopal Church 
ministry in 1938 upon graduation from General Theological Seminary. He 
went on to earn a Master of Sacred Theology from Philadelphia Divinity 
School, doctorates in divinity and theology, and two honorary 
doctorates.
  Throughout his life, Reverend Canon Logan has been a fighter for 
civil rights, an NAACP activist, a friend and advocate of Dr. Martin 
Luther King, Jr., a demonstrator and a trainer in the tactics of non-
violence. In addition to his stint at Calvary, Reverend Canon Logan has 
served the Episcopal Church in numerous leadership and missionary 
roles. He has been a veritable ``Mister Fixit'' in Philadelphia as 
interim priest at five parishes, chaplain for the Philadelphia 
Presbyterian Hospital and Philadelphia Police Department.
  Reverend Canon Logan's contributions to his hometown go beyond the 
life of the church. He is a past president of the Philadelphia Tribune 
Charities and Rafters' Charities and one of the founders of the Afro-
American Museum.
  He is a life member--and an active member--of Alpha Phi Alpha, the 
oldest intercollegiate fraternity founded by African-American men, 
which he pledged in 1933 at Alpha Omicron Chapter as a student at 
Johnson C. Smith University. Just last summer, the good Canon attended 
Alpha's 105th anniversary convention in Chicago, accompanied by his 
wife Hermione, who had reached the century mark a few months ahead of 
her husband. It goes without saying that Reverend Logan is Alpha's 
oldest living member.
  Even today, as he approaches the century milestone, this remarkable 
man of God carries the title of associate priest at the African 
Episcopal Church of St. Thomas, 6361 Lancaster Avenue in Philadelphia, 
the nation's first to be established by and for black Episcopalians. 
St. Thomas, under the leadership of the Reverend Dr. Martini Shaw, 
traces its founding to 1792 and its first pastor, the pioneering 
Reverend Absalom Jones. It is fitting that St. Thomas will be the venue 
for Reverend Canon Logan's 100th Birthday Celebration Mass on March 18, 
2012--his 99th year, 364th day upon this earth.
  I invite my colleagues to join me in honoring this remarkable man, 
extending best wishes, good health and good times to the Reverend Canon 
Thomas Wilson Stearly Logan, Sr.

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