[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 6]
[Senate]
[Page 8717]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                    TRIBUTE TO TELLIS JEROME CHAPMAN

 Mr. PETERS. Mr. President, I wish to recognize Rev. Dr. Tellis 
Jerome Chapman of Galilee Missionary Baptist Church in Detroit, MI as 
the congregation and the broader community celebrate his 30th pastoral 
anniversary.
  Born and raised in the State of Mississippi, Reverend Chapman is a 
graduate of Jackson State University and has received honorary doctoral 
degrees from Natchez College and Dallas Baptist College. Reverend 
Chapman has served as pastor in churches across the South. On March 31, 
1985, Reverend Chapman was called to the pastorate of Galilee 
Missionary Baptist Church where he has been devoted to serving for the 
past 30 years. Through his charismatic and dynamic leadership he has 
left a permanent mark on the congregation and Greater Detroit 
community.
  The congregation has steadily grown under Pastor Chapman's 
leadership. His original vision of a church with classrooms, a daycare, 
and a senior citizen building came to fruition in 1997. The purchase of 
the property located on East Outer Drive included 7 acres of land and a 
building that provided seating capacity for 1,000, with facilities to 
accommodate all of the church's ministries. The new edifice was 
inaugurated on Sunday May 31, 1998. Seven years later the church 
acquired adjacent property and a new building with a new edifice.
  Reverend Chapman has been called many times to serve in a leadership 
capacity among his ministerial peers and with Christian associations. 
He was an advisor on the Faith-Based Advisory Board of Governor 
Jennifer Granholm, and currently works as a president of the Baptist 
Missionary and Educational State Convention of Michigan. He has served 
as vice moderator and vice president of the Michigan District Baptist 
Association and Congress of Michigan. Respected for his knowledge, he 
is well versed in parliamentary procedure and served as parliamentarian 
for the Baptist Missionary and Educational Convention of the State of 
Michigan.
  Reverend Chapman has been involved in Detroit's recent growth and the 
development of mass transit through his work as a board member on the 
city of Detroit Department of Transportation Commission for several 
years. Reverend Chapman's community service is not without energetic 
and influential involvement. He is the founder and president of the 
Chapel Vision Community Development Corporation, serving greater 
southeast Detroit. He is also Founder and President of the Mid-West 
Community Development Corporation, serving greater southeastern 
Michigan.
  Reverend Chapman's efforts, both at the pulpit and beyond, have been 
strengthened by the love and support of his wife Eunice, and their four 
children, Cecil, Brandie, Candace, and Brannon.
  It is an honor to recognize the profound impact that Rev. Dr. Tellis 
Jerome Chapman has made on the congregation of Galilee Missionary 
Baptist Church for the last 30 years and the larger impact he has made 
on the Greater Detroit community. I wish Reverend Chapman, his family, 
and the congregants of Galilee many more rewarding years of spiritual 
fellowship.

                          ____________________