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| 1 | HOUSE RESOLUTION
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| 2 | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | ||||||
| 3 | Representatives wish to congratulate the Reverend Clarence W. | ||||||
| 4 | Hopson, pastor emeritus of the Broadview Missionary Baptist | ||||||
| 5 | Church, on the occasion of his 95th birthday on May 27, 2023; | ||||||
| 6 | and
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| 7 | WHEREAS, Pastor Hopson was born on May 27, 1928; he served | ||||||
| 8 | in the U.S. Army, where he was stationed in Camp Gordon, | ||||||
| 9 | Georgia and later in Stuttgart, Germany; he married Annie Bell | ||||||
| 10 | at New Hope Baptist Church in Jackson, Mississippi on January | ||||||
| 11 | 18, 1953, and they had five children; and
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| 12 | WHEREAS, Pastor Hopson worked as a machine operator at the | ||||||
| 13 | International Harvester in Melrose Park, where he felt his | ||||||
| 14 | life's calling to minister; he began preaching at Pilgrim Rest | ||||||
| 15 | Baptist Church in Chicago, where he served for 15 years, and he | ||||||
| 16 | graduated from Moody Bible Institute in 1971; and
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| 17 | WHEREAS, Pastor Hopson became pastor at Broadview Baptist | ||||||
| 18 | Chapel (BBC) at 44 years of age in May 1972, with approximately | ||||||
| 19 | 40 members; under his pastoral leadership, the congregation | ||||||
| 20 | experienced record growth, leading the church to find a new | ||||||
| 21 | location in 1974 and again in 1980; and
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| 1 | WHEREAS, Pastor Hopson oversaw BBC being renamed as the | ||||||
| 2 | Broadview Missionary Baptist Church (BMBC); under his | ||||||
| 3 | guidance, BMBC led countless individuals to deepen or discover | ||||||
| 4 | their faith, and hundreds were baptized; he also launched 36 | ||||||
| 5 | ministries to serve the church family and surrounding | ||||||
| 6 | communities; he preached at BMBC for 35 years until his | ||||||
| 7 | retirement in 2007; and
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| 8 | WHEREAS, Pastor Hopson, whose life in ministry spans over | ||||||
| 9 | five decades, now serves as pastor emeritus of BMBC; his love | ||||||
| 10 | for people of all backgrounds and cultures is paramount to his | ||||||
| 11 | pastoral leadership and legacy; and
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| 12 | WHEREAS, Through evangelism, pastoral leadership, and | ||||||
| 13 | mentoring other church leaders, Pastor Hopson has made an | ||||||
| 14 | indelible impact on the City of Broadview and the lives of its | ||||||
| 15 | citizens; therefore, be it
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| 16 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | ||||||
| 17 | HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | ||||||
| 18 | we congratulate the Reverend Clarence W. Hopson, pastor | ||||||
| 19 | emeritus of the Broadview Missionary Baptist Church, on | ||||||
| 20 | celebrating his 95th birthday; and be it further
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| 21 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | ||||||
| 22 | presented to Pastor Hopson as an expression of our esteem and | ||||||
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| 1 | respect.
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