[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 9]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 12541]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                   IN HONOR OF DR. I.L. MULLINS, SR.

                                 ______
                                 

                      HON. SANFORD D. BISHOP, JR.

                               of georgia

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, July 26, 2012

  Mr. BISHOP of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to an 
inspiring community leader and beloved Pastor of First Missionary 
Baptist Church, Dr. I.L. Mullins, Sr. Sadly, Dr. Mullins passed away on 
Wednesday, July 18, 2012. His passing leaves a tremendous void in the 
hearts of his family, friends and the Thomasville, Georgia community.
  On Thursday, July 26, 2012, a Musical Memorial Service will be held 
in honor of Dr. Mullins at First Missionary Baptist Church. On Friday, 
July 27, 2012, a funeral service will be held at First Baptist Church 
in Thomasville, Georgia.
  Dr. Mullins was born on August 26, 1930, and grew up in Chattanooga, 
Tennessee. He served in the United States Air Force during the Korean 
War in the 1950s.
  Over the course of his lifetime, Dr. Mullins admirably mastered the 
balance of his civic responsibilities with his academic accomplishments 
and religious commitments. After he received a Bachelor of Arts degree 
from Morehouse College in 1957, he went on to obtain his Masters of 
Divinity from the Interdenominational Theological Center & Gammon 
Theological Seminary in 1960. In 1979, Dr. Mullins received his Doctor 
of Divinity degree from Faith College in Birmingham, Alabama.
  A fierce believer in equality and justice for all, Dr. Mullins was 
not only a profound theologian but also a strong civic leader. He 
marched with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. during the Civil Rights 
Movement of the 1960s and was instrumental in organizing the local 
Thomasville branch of the National Association for the Advancement of 
Colored People, NAACP. Additionally, Dr. Mullins served effectively as 
Thomas County Commissioner for five-terms that spanned over two 
decades.
  Ordained as a minister on December 29, 1957, Dr. Mullins has served 
as the Pastor of the First Missionary Baptist Church since 1961 and was 
honored by the church for 50 years of dedicated pastoral service last 
year in a Golden Jubilee Extravaganza.
  Mr. Speaker, one of the things that I will always remember about Dr. 
Mullins is his dedication to helping others and his passion for 
promoting equality and peace among individuals from different walks of 
life. A man of integrity and high moral values, his understanding, 
compassion and kindness made him a guiding light within the community.
  On a personal note, I have been truly blessed by Dr. Mullins' warm 
friendship and support and I am deeply grateful for his counsel and 
advice as well as for being a fountain of inspiration for me over the 
last several years. His motto was, ``God's Preachers give their hearers 
fruit, not flowers.'' Indeed, Dr. Mullins gave his congregation and all 
those who have sought his counsel the fruit of the Word to satiate and 
sustain them throughout the journey of life.
  Mr. Speaker, my wife Vivian and I, along with the almost 700,000 
people in the 2nd Congressional District of Georgia, would like to 
extend our deepest sympathies to Dr. Mullins' wife the former Josephine 
Lovejoy Ferrell, their children, grandchildren and the members of First 
Missionary Baptist Church during this difficult time. May they be 
consoled and comforted by their abiding faith and the Holy Spirit in 
the days, weeks and months ahead.

                          ____________________