HR1346 100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR1346 LRB100 24205 MST 43417 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of Representatives wish to congratulate the Rev. Dr. Alan Vincent Ragland on the occasion of his retirement as pastor from the Third Baptist Church of Chicago after 26 years; and

WHEREAS, Rev. Ragland completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Memphis; he received his Master of Divinity from the Colgate Rochester Divinity School and earned his Doctor of Ministry from the McCormick Theological Seminary; he served as pastor of the New Fellowship Baptist Church in Memphis prior to coming to Third Baptist Church as only the second pastor in its history; and

WHEREAS, Rev. Ragland was ordained by the Progressive National Baptist Convention, Inc. and the American Baptist Churches, USA; he served as the first full-time African-American faculty member at the Memphis Theological Seminary and as a theological educator at the McCormick Theological Seminary and the University of Chicago Divinity School; during his term as chairperson of the Mission Partnership Committee of American Baptist Churches of Metro Chicago, he spearheaded a partnership with the Ghana Baptist Convention in West Africa, where he traveled several times and led a group of TBCoC members on a mission trip in 2009; he served as a board member of several theological institutions, including the McCormick Theological Seminary in Chicago, the Hood Theological Seminary in Salisbury, North Carolina, and the Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School in Rochester, New York; he was a founding member of United Power for Action and Justice; and

WHEREAS, Rev. Ragland worked extensively for lay and ministerial development; the first female ministers and deacons at TBCoC were ordained under his leadership; during his tenure, more than 25 persons have participated in the TBCoC Ministers-in-Training Program, which he developed; he is father-in-ministry to men and women in various clergy roles in Chicago and nationally; he is a contributing author of Living in Hell: The Dilemma of African-American Survival and wrote the meditation for Psalm 95 in the African-American Devotional Bible; and

WHEREAS, Rev. Ragland leaves the Third Baptist Church having expanded its missional footprint substantially; the congregation operates over three dozen ministries, including a weekly food pantry, a faith-based care network of health and wellness, grief share, Stephen Ministers, a youth development program, a Christian Education Program, a seniors ministry, a jail ministry, a variety of physical fitness options, college scholarships and grants for over 20 consecutive years, and a number of community partnership services such as the One Church One School initiative and the implementation of interfaith worship services with the B'nai Jehoshua Beth Elohim Jewish congregation; he and the joint boards of Third Baptist Church developed Heritage Community Development Corporation and Quantum Faith non-profit organizations; he spearheaded the ALIVE! Program and led TBCoC in construction of the TBCoC Life Center; and

WHEREAS, Rev. Ragland is an inaugural member of the men's branch of the Praise Dance Ministry of Third Baptist and has danced faithfully for 10 years; he is a member of the church's male chorus and a soloist for the combined choirs; and

WHEREAS, Rev. Ragland is married to Barbara Ollie Ragland Ph.D.; he serves as vice president of The Lydia Group, founded by his wife; they are the proud parents of one daughter, Melanie Loren Ragland; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE HUNDREDTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we congratulate the Rev. Dr. Alan Vincent Ragland on his retirement as pastor from the Third Baptist Church of Chicago after 26 years, and we wish him the best in all his future endeavors; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to Rev. Ragland as a symbol of our respect and esteem.