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Congratulates Reverend Doctor Clay Evans of Chicago on his 85th birthday, celebrated on July 12, 2010.

Evans was born June 23, 1925, in Brownsville, Tennessee and founded the Fellowship Baptist Church on Chicago's South Side in 1958.

Ordained as a Baptist minister in 1950 after studying at Chicago Baptist Institute, Northern Baptist Theological Seminary, and University of Chicago Divinity School; mentored 81 ministers throughout his career.

Co-founded Operation PUSH with Reverend Jesse Jackson in 1965 and served as chairman from 1971 to 1976; published autobiography "From Plough Handle to Pulpit" in 1982.

Evans is married to Lutha Mae Hollingshed and has five children; sermons aired on radio and television throughout the Midwest and South.