[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 4]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 5099]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




      CELEBRATING THE 132ND ANNIVERSARY OF EBENEZER BAPTIST CHURCH

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                        HON. GERALD E. CONNOLLY

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, April 15, 2015

  Mr. CONNOLLY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the 132nd 
anniversary of Ebenezer Baptist Church.
  Reverend Lewis Henry Bailey, a freed slave, founded Ebenezer Baptist 
Church. After being separated from his family in Alexandria, Virginia, 
Lewis Henry Bailey was sold into slavery and spent all of his youth and 
early adulthood as a slave in the state of Texas. Upon his return to 
Alexandria, Virginia, after obtaining his freedom, Lewis Henry Bailey 
was reunited with his mother, not far from where he was sold into 
slavery. Bailey found employment with a railroad company and later 
graduated from Wayland College. In 1882, he was ordained as an 
itinerant minister at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Alexandria. With 
aspirations of sharing the Gospel with residents of the Town of 
Occoquan, Reverend Bailey walked to and from the town to hold religious 
services for the black members of the community. In appreciation of his 
tireless efforts, white members of the community provided land for a 
church and a place for Reverend Bailey to live. The Clerk of the Court 
for Prince William County approved the deed on March 8, 1883, and 
Ebenezer Baptist Church celebrates its anniversary on the first Sunday 
of March in recognition of this momentous occasion.
  Bailey started the New School in Occoquan, serving as a precursor to 
the establishment of the New School Baptist Church, which later became 
Ebenezer Baptist Church. The cornerstone of the church was laid on the 
first Sunday in May 1883 and the building was dedicated in 1885. 
Reverend Bailey, who had long been the inspiration and driving force 
for the establishment of this church, led the congregation from 1885-
1891. The church has endured setbacks and faced community challenges 
during its 132 year history. After the original church structure burned 
to the ground in 1923, Ebenezer Baptist Church was rebuilt in 1924 
where it remains today in the same historical site. Ebenezer Baptist 
Church leadership and its members have played key roles in both 
promoting civic justice and raising awareness throughout Prince William 
County. The church was instrumental in the integration of the county's 
public schools in the 1960s. I was honored to include the oral 
histories of three members of Ebenezer Baptist Church in my recent 
Northern Virginia Civil Rights Archive project.
  Throughout its history, Ebenezer Baptist Church has been led by 
pastors who have served the church and the congregation faithfully. It 
is my honor to enter into the Congressional Record the names of the 
governing pastors of Ebenezer Baptist Church since its founding in 
1883: Reverend Lewis Henry Bailey, Reverend Wesley Jackson, Reverend J. 
E. Peterson, Reverend Francis Eager Pree, Reverend Bush, Reverend 
Roots, Reverend Reuben Hall and Reverend J.E. Morris. Most recently, on 
June 23, 1990, Reverend Charles A. Lundy was called to the pulpit to 
lead the church.
  Under Reverend Lundy's leadership, Ebenezer Baptist Church has 
flourished. Due to significant membership growth from 120 to over 800 
members in recent years, weekly worship at Ebenezer Baptist Church has 
been relocated to Telegraph Road to accommodate a growing church 
family.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask that my colleagues join me in celebrating the 
132nd anniversary of Ebenezer Baptist Church and in thanking the church 
and congregation for their contributions to our community.

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