{"database": "openregs", "table": "congressional_record", "rows": [["CREC-2026-05-07-pt1-PgE417-3", "2026-05-07", 119, 2, null, null, "HONORING THE LIFE OF REVEREND FELTON LAMAR", "HOUSE", "EXTENSIONS", "HONORING", "E417", "E417", "[{\"name\": \"Sanford D. Bishop, Jr.\", \"role\": \"speaking\"}]", null, "172 Cong. Rec. E417", "Congressional Record, Volume 172 Issue 78 (Thursday, May 7, 2026)\n\n[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 78 (Thursday, May 7, 2026)]\n[Extensions of Remarks]\n[Page E417]\nFrom the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]\n\n               HONORING THE LIFE OF REVEREND FELTON LAMAR\n\n                                 ______\n\n                      HON. SANFORD D. BISHOP, JR.\n\n                               of georgia\n\n                    in the house of representatives\n\n                         Thursday, May 7, 2026\n\n  Mr. BISHOP. Mr. Speaker, I rise today with to honor and celebrate the\nlife of Reverend Felton Lamar, who peacefully transitioned from this\nlife on May 1, 2026. A Homegoing service to celebrate his remarkable\nand dedicated life will be held on Friday, May 8, 2026, at the Mount\nZion Missionary Baptist Church in Albany, Georgia.\n  Born the fifth of nine children to the late William ``Bosie'' Lamar\nand Bertha Lamar, Reverend Lamar's life was rooted in faith, family,\nand service. At an early age he accepted Christ as his Lord and Savior\nand joined Pleasant Grove Baptist Church near Sylvester, Georgia. His\nfaith guided every aspect of his life--his family life, his work, and\nthe decades of ministry that followed.\n  Reverend Lamar received his early education in the public schools of\nWorth County and later earned a Bachelor of Applied Science in Bible\nfrom Bethany Divinity College & Seminary in 1994. In 1962, he was\nunited in holy matrimony to Elizabeth Roberts Lamar. From this loving\nunion, three children were born--Gary, Harold, and Katrina--and they,\nalong with fourteen grandchildren and twenty-four great-grandchildren,\nremain living testaments to his devotion as a husband, father, and\ngrandfather.\n  Before answering the call to full-time ministry, Reverend Lamar\nworked faithfully at MacGregor Golf and Firestone Tire & Rubber Company\nand later served his community as a school bus driver in the Dougherty\nCounty School System until his retirement. After relocating to Albany,\nhe united with Antioch Baptist Church, where his faithfulness, spirit\nof service, and leadership established him as a vital pillar of the\ncongregation. He served in many capacities--Senior Choir President,\nChurch Secretary, Sunday School teacher and was ordained a Deacon in\n1971 by the late Reverend R.B. Smith.\n  Hearing the divine call to preach, Reverend Lamar was ordained as a\nMinister of the Gospel in 1982 by the late Reverend George Daniels. He\npastored with humility, compassion, and steadfast devotion--leading\nPleasant Grove Missionary Baptist Church in Shellman, St. Peter Baptist\nChurch in Pelham, Mt. Early Baptist Church in Albany, and, for thirty\nyears beginning in 1984, First Bethesda Missionary Baptist Church,\nwhere he was affectionately known as ``the Pastor who cares.'' Even\nafter his retirement, he continued to serve faithfully at Mt. Zion\nBaptist Church until illness intervened.\n  Beyond the pulpit, Reverend Lamar's leadership extended throughout\nthe larger religious community. He served as Moderator of the Bethesda\nNo. 1 Association, County Coordinator for the Second District of the\nGeneral Missionary Baptist Convention of Georgia and was an active\nmember of the Albany Ministers' Conference. His life of service--quiet,\npersistent, and rooted in love--lifted countless lives.\n  As Charles H. Spurgeon wrote, ``By perseverance the snail reached the\nark.'' That image of steady, humble perseverance captures the essence\nof Reverend Lamar's ministry: not showy, but faithful to the end. He\npersevered in love, prayer, and service, and by that perseverance he\nsheltered and strengthened many.\n  Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join my wife Vivian and me, along\nwith the more than 765,000 people of Georgia's 2nd Congressional\nDistrict as we mourn the passing of a faithful servant whose life\nexemplified the Gospel he preached. I ask my colleagues to join me in\nextending our deepest condolences to Reverend Lamar's wife, children,\ngrandchildren, siblings, and all who were blessed by his ministry. May\nhis legacy of love, humility, and perseverance continue to inspire and\nguide us.\n\n                          ____________________"]], "columns": ["granule_id", "date", "congress", "session", "volume", "issue", "title", "chamber", "granule_class", "sub_granule_class", "page_start", "page_end", "speakers", "bills", "citation", "full_text"], "primary_keys": ["granule_id"], "primary_key_values": ["CREC-2026-05-07-pt1-PgE417-3"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.9522649925202131, "source": "Federal Register API & Regulations.gov API", "source_url": "https://www.federalregister.gov/developers/api/v1", "license": "Public Domain (U.S. Government data)", "license_url": "https://www.regulations.gov/faq"}