[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 7]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 10264]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     IN HONOR OF LADY RUTH SKINNER

                                 ______
                                 

                      HON. SANFORD D. BISHOP, JR.

                               of georgia

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, July 5, 2016

  Mr. BISHOP of Georgia. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate a 
dear friend of longstanding to my wife, Vivian and me, Lady Ruth 
Skinner, on 60 years of life and 40 years devoted to the ministry of 
Jesus Christ. David Viscott once said that, ``The purpose of life is to 
discover your gift. The work of life is to develop it. The Meaning of 
life is to give your gift away.'' Ruth Skinner has given her life away 
in service to God, her family, the Columbus community and the broader 
faith community. Truly, we and the world are all better for it.
  Ruth Skinner, affectionately called ``Lady'', was born and reared in 
Columbus, Georgia where she attended Columbus Technical College and 
became a Master Cosmetologist and businesswoman, in her own right. 
Furthermore, she is a member of Bread of Life Christian Center 
Ministries, Inc., where she has served as the Founding First Lady for 
over 31 years alongside her loving husband, Bishop L.D. Skinner, Sr.
  Lady Ruth Skinner's passion and dedication for her faith inspired her 
to lead. She has dedicated 40 years of her life to the ministry and has 
taken the gifts with which she had been endowed by God to better 
support her community. As a Ruling Elder of Bread of Life Christian 
Center Ministries and National Director of Explosion Ministries 
Fellowship Association of Churches (EMFAC), a fellowship of 
interdenominational ministries and churches, she demonstrates her 
leadership and unwavering faith in God.
  She is the mother to three sons--Pastor Darnel Skinner, Jr., Darrell 
Skinner, and Darius Skinner--and loves spending time with her siblings 
and grandchildren. Her 60 years of life, thus far, have been filled by 
travel with her husband, expanding her knowledge through literature, 
and nurturing her relationship with both God and God's people. Lady 
Ruth lives by the idea that only what you do for Christ will last, and 
her selfless dedication and service make it clear the lives she has 
touched over the years have been irreversibly changed.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join my wife, Vivian, and me in 
extending our gratitude and best wishes to Lady Ruth Skinner on the 
occasion of her 60th birthday, and the celebration of 40 years of 
faithful service in the ministry of Jesus Christ. To God be the glory 
for the things He has done through the life of Lady Ruth Skinner.

                          ____________________