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[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E858]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
IN RECOGNITION OF THE 100TH ANNIVERSARY OF MT. PLEASANT BAPTIST CHURCH
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HON. EMANUEL CLEAVER
of missouri
in the house of representatives
Thursday, June 27, 2019
Mr. CLEAVER. Madam Speaker, it is my honor to rise today to celebrate
Mt. Pleasant Baptist Church's 100th Anniversary and recognize it for
its numerous contributions to the greater Kansas City area. I am truly
honored to have this house of worship and pillar of faith in my
Congressional District.
Mt. Pleasant Baptist Church is in Kansas City's historic 18th and
Vine District, a neighborhood critical to the life and development of
the African American community. In the 1920s, 18th and Vine began to
grow, becoming a creative hub of African American culture and shaping
the future of Kansas City for the better. Founded in 1919, Mt. Pleasant
Baptist Church was crucial to this cultural renaissance. Churches
throughout this period were centers of community and support. They
provided members hope and encouragement in the face of seemingly
hopeless challenges like inequality, discrimination, and segregation.
For a century, Mt. Pleasant Baptist Church has been a vehicle for
social justice and change within Kansas City's African American
community.
Today, churches continue to be a keeper of cultural tradition, a
center of storytelling, and the core of African American community. As
writer Shauntae Brown White wrote, ``Storytelling that connects is an
act of resonance that fulfills the second tenant of Afrocentric
discourse, creating harmony in the midst of chaos.'' For the past 100
years, the congregation of Mt. Pleasant Baptist Church has produced
some of the brightest leaders, innovators, thinkers, and artists in
Missouri's Fifth Congressional District.
Today, Mt. Pleasant Baptist Church serves as a spiritual anchor
within the Kansas City community. The church transforms the lives of
its members for the better, unites people of all ages and supports them
as they seek to live according to the teachings of Jesus Christ. For
the past thirty-three years, Pastor L. Henderson Bell has led the
church to be a house of hope for those facing adversity in the
community. Mt. Pleasant Baptist Church not only is a center of
spiritual development but a hub of service in its community, embodying
James 2:17's assertion that, ``Faith by itself, if it has no works, is
dead.'' The church serves the poor and marginalized members of the
community by reaching out to them and providing educational
opportunities, Bible study classes, health and scholarship trainings,
and programs for music and dance.
Mt. Pleasant Baptist has been and continues to be an advocate for the
underserved and a champion of the faithful in Kansas City. Its century
worth of contributions to the soul of Missouri's Fifth Congressional
District are worthy of praise and recognition. Madam Speaker, please
join me in celebrating and honoring Pastor L. Henderson Bell and the
congregation of Mt. Pleasant Baptist Church, both past and present, for
achieving this milestone.
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