The publication is reproduced in full below:
HONORING THE REMARKABLE LIFE OF PASTOR PHILLIP AQUILLA BROOKS, II
______
HON. BRENDA L. LAWRENCE
of michigan
in the house of representatives
Tuesday, May 4, 2021
Mrs. LAWRENCE. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the remarkable life of Pastor Phillip Aquilla Brooks, II, a man who dedicated his life to public service and to his church community for nearly seven decades.
Pastor Brooks was born on December 21, 1931, after his older brothers, Jesse and Cecil, and followed by his little sister, Barbara Jean. In 1949, he moved from Chicago, Illinois, to Detroit, Michigan, to pursue his religious calling and after meeting the love of his life. Phillip Brooks married Doris Brooks on February 2, 1952, and they enjoyed an astounding 68 years of marriage. With his wife and his mother-in-law, Pastor Brooks established the New St. Paul Tabernacle Church Of God In Christ in Detroit, which he would go on to lead for 66 incredible years.
Under Pastor Brooks' guiding hand, the New St. Paul Tabernacle Church Of God In Christ grew in both membership and expanded its evangelical reach. Pastor Brooks purchased the church's first building in April 1969. He later established the March of Faith Telecast and Radio Ministry, which operated for more than four decades, and ministered to millions across the nation in homes, hospital rooms, and prisons. Adding to an already impressive career of service, Pastor Brooks was consecrated Jurisdictional prelate of the Northeast Michigan Jurisdiction in 1975 following a recommendation by his mentor, the late Pastor C.J. Johnson, Sr. He served 45 years as jurisdictional prelate--
the longest serving Pastor in both the Northeast Michigan Jurisdiction and in the history of the Church of God in Christ in Michigan. In 1984, Pastor Brooks was once again recognized for his service and elected to the General Board of the Presidium of the Church of God in Christ, where he served for 36 years. His tenure on the Presidium was the longest of any Board Member, past or present, and he held multiple leadership positions with grace.
Pastor Brooks' service did not end at the Michigan border. He spearheaded and assisted in raising funds for people affected by the 9/
11 World Trade Center terrorist attack in New York and Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. Additionally, he also established the nation's first Blue Cross/Blue Shield Program for local pastors, which created the first life insurance programs for local pastors and their spouses. Pastor Brooks was also the first African-American pastor to broadcast on television in Detroit, Michigan--a broadcast that aired on WGPR 62, the first Black-owned television station in the country.
Pastor Brooks will be sorely missed, but his decades of service in the Church of God in Christ in Michigan will never be forgotten.
____________________
SOURCE: Congressional Record Vol. 167, No. 77
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