Recognizing the 10th Anniversary of Dr. Vernon C. Walton, Senior Pastor of First Baptist Church of Vienna

Floor Speech

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Mr. CONNOLLY. Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize Dr. Venron C. Walton for his 10th Anniversary as Senior Pastor of First Baptist Church of Vienna.

Church and community have always been staples of the ministry of Dr. Vernon C. Walton. Dr. Walton, a native of Jersey City, New Jersey, has served as Senior Pastor of the First Baptist Church of Vienna, Virginia, since February, 2014. He is the 19th Senior Pastor in the history of this 156-year-old congregation, First Baptist Church of Vienna.

Dr. Walton's primary mission is to ``make a difference in our community and be a light of hope for the World.'' His charismatic, energetic, and innovative leadership has led the congregation of First Baptist into a season where they are ``Empowered by the Past and Excited About the Future.'' As a result of his leadership, First Baptist has increased its community engagement, mission opportunities, and strengthened the capacity of its 33 ministries--making a difference in the lives of those within and outside of the church.

During his tenure at First Baptist, Dr. Walton has focused much of his ministry efforts on missions, cultural awareness, and social justice. Under his leadership. First Baptist Vienna has been on the forefront, helping to ensure that the needs of Fairfax County's marginalized communities are addressed by implementing programming geared toward education and justice such as the annual Juneteenth Celebration and Justice and Legislative Sunday.

First Baptist also partners with area elementary schools and community partners to provide tutoring, Thanksgiving meals, and Christmas presents for students and families. At the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, the church distributed over 25,000 boxes of food throughout Northern Virginia and held multiple vaccine clinics delivering over 3,000 vaccinations. First Baptist has also provided meals to nearly 1 million food insecure people around the world by partnering with Rise Against Hunger and hosting meal packaging events. He also initiated ``Be the Church Sundays'' which serve as opportunities for church members to go outside the walls of the church to serve others throughout Northern Virginia.

Dr. Walton serves on Fairfax County's Affordable Housing Advisory Council, the Police Reform Task Force, and the Fairfax County Public Schools Strategic Planning Team. Most recently, he has served on the Chairman's Task Force on Equity and Opportunity in Fairfax County, chairing the Public Safety Committee, and is a founding member of Voices of Black Fairfax.

Mr. Speaker, I ask that my colleagues join me in honoring Dr. Walton for his tremendous efforts as a leader in our communities, as he celebrates his 10th Anniversary, as Senior Pastor of First Baptist Church of Vienna.

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