Welcoming Reverend Asriel McLain

Floor Speech

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Mr. CASSIDY. Mr. President, it is my privilege now to speak to the pastor from my home State who gave the prayer today, the Reverend Asriel McLain of Shreveport.

Reverend McLain is a graduate of Bishop College in Dallas, TX, and he earned his master of divinity degree from Princeton Theological Seminary. He has been a pastor, ministering to others in Louisiana, Texas, and Michigan.

Reverend McLain is the son of Mrs. Mildred Oliver McLain and the late Reverend Claude Clifford, the former pastor of the historic Little Union Baptist Church, which was the epicenter of the civil rights movement in Shreveport.

I had breakfast with Pastor McLain this morning and learned of the courage of his father and that of his congregation, while in the face of official oppression, in making sure that one Martin Luther King got to speak in Shreveport and that those in their community had a voice about how they wanted their community to evolve. The courage that his father showed and that the parish showed--I am an Episcopalian--that the congregation showed was quite remarkable.

Much like his father, Reverend McLain has spent much of his life preserving the civil rights history of Louisiana, and much like his father, he is a man of profound faith and is a messenger of God's grace.

He is a proud father of four kids and is a grandfather of four. He is also one of five siblings--Pat, John, Gene, and Clifford--and Clifford is here with him today. Pastor McLain is also accompanied by his son David and grandson Jayden.

It was a pleasure to have Pastor McLain lead us in prayer today, and I look forward to perhaps having him join us once more.

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