Welcoming Reverend Eamon Kelly

Floor Speech

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Mr. EMMER. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor an exceptional leader and someone who I can now call a good friend, Father Eamon Kelly.

This past August, my colleague from California, Pete Aguilar, and I had the privilege of leading a bipartisan delegation of freshmen Members to Israel, where Father Kelly baptized several of our Members in the Sea of Galilee.

It was a transformational experience that we will keep with us for the rest of our lives, and it was, in large part, thanks to Father Kelly's leadership, faith, and commitment to helping others experience the power and the history of the Holy Land.

When I first met Father Kelly, I asked him where he is from because he has an interesting accent, or brogue. He told me: ``I am from the Holy Land, and I live in the Promised Land.''

Having served at the Notre Dame of Jerusalem Center for more than a decade and now serving as the vice director of the Magdala Center, Father Kelly's work in the Holy Land has impacted people from all walks of life from all over the globe. The fruits of his labor will undoubtedly have a lasting impact for generations to come.

As we honor him on the House floor today, we also pray that many more people will encounter God and grow in their relationship with Christ as a result of his ministry.

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