ÿþ<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"> <html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"> <head> <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1" /> <title></title> <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="styles/style.css" /> <script type="text/javascript" src="scripts/tFader.js"></script> <!--[if IE]><link href="styles/ie6.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css"><![endif]--> </head> <body> <table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="wrapper"> <tr> <td> <table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="headerLogo"> <tr> <td id="navBar"> <ul> <li><a href="index.html">Our Church</a></li> <li><a href="about.html">About Us</a></li> <li><a href="ministries.html">Ministries</a></li> <li><a href="resources.html">E-Giving</a></li> <li><a href="events.html">Events Calendar </a></li> <li><a href="directions.html">Campaign Higher Ground</a></li> <li><a href="contact.html">Contact</a></li> </ul> </td> </tr> <tr> <td style="height:250px"><div id="logo"> <a href="index.html"> <img src="images/blank-lg.gif" alt="Home Page" width="390" height="135" /> <img alt="Animated_Earth" class="style1" longdesc="Earth.gif" src="Earth.gif" /> </a> </div></td> </tr> </table><!--END HEADER LOGO--> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> <table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> <tr> <td> <table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="mainFull"> <tr> <td id="mainFullTp"></td> </tr> <tr> <td id="mainFullContent"> <h2 id="firstlady">First Lady s Biography</h2><br /> <h4>Mrs. Odessa L. Perry</h4> <p>When Union Baptist Church called Reverend Perry as its Pastor 37 years ago, the congregation was anointed with  double blessings. Mrs. Perry brought to Union a wealth of talent and experience and graciously stepped in to replace Miss Helen Hubbard, Union s faithful church secretary and clerk, who resigned because of illness. The experience Mrs. Perry brought to this position made her a valuable asset to Union Baptist. She labored as Union s Church Clerk and Office Manager for 24 years and was instrumental in modernizing the equipment of the office and developing an office capable of handling the multiple demands of the church s complex schedule and agenda. During her 24 years of working in the church office as secretary, clerk and office manager, Mrs. Perry trained many African American youth and adults in the business field. On December 3, 2005 during the Annual Founder s Day Luncheon, she was inducted into The International Association of Ministers Wives and Widows Gallery of Fame during a special Inductee Ceremony held at the Sheraton Richmond West Hotel in Richmond, Virginia. </p> <p>Union received  double blessings of spirit and grace in that our First Lady, Dr. Odessa Brown Perry, truly embodies the biblical description of a virtuous woman. She is an indefatigable Christian worker, devoted mother, mentor, a nationally noted editor and friend. She is affectionately known as Odessa. </p> <p>Our First Lady was born in Portsmouth, Virginia, the fourth child of the late Winfred and Hettie Brown. She attended school in Portsmouth, where she met and dated the dapper Robert Perry. After graduation, she attended Norfolk State University as an Accounting major and eventually became employed at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard in the Accounting Department. She was the second African American to work there. While employed there, she was reacquainted with her high school sweetheart, Robert Perry. Their love and devotion to each other led to their marriage on September 4, 1954. She is a graduate of Marymount College, which is now Fordham University in New York. </p> <p>Shortly after their marriage, the young couple moved to New York City. Mrs. Perry later returned to Government work with Selective Services. Her impeccable administrative skills helped her to secure employment as a Legal Administrator with two of Brooklyn s leading attorneys, Zelig and Pizzuto. While in New York, they became members of Mt. Sinai Baptist Church. During this time, Mrs. Perry observed a great change in her husband s life. She witnessed years of his refusal to acknowledge the calling Christ had on his life, and finally she witnessed his surrender. He answered the call to a life of gospel ministry. His acceptance brought great blessings to the young couple. In less than a year, Reverend Perry was ordained and accepted the pastoral duties at Mrs. Perry s home church, Mt. Carmel Baptist Church in Portsmouth, Virginia. They were able to go  back home and bless their children with quality time shared with both maternal and paternal grandparents, and family members. </p> <p>Mrs. and Reverend Perry have three children, three grandsons, one granddaughter, and two great-granddaughters. </p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td id="mainFullBt"></td> </tr> </table> <!--END CONTENT --> </td> </tr> </table> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> <table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="footer"> <tr> <td id="footerTop"></td> </tr> <tr> <td id="footerMid"></td> </tr> <tr> <td id="footerBottom"></td> </tr> </table> </td> </tr> </table> </body> </html>