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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2     WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3 Representatives are saddened to learn of the death of Bishop
4 Cornelius Southern, Pastor of the Grace Apostolic Faith Church
5 in Chicago, who passed away on May 5, 2007; and
 
6     WHEREAS, Bishop Cornelius Southern was the founder of the
7 Grace Apostolic Faith Church and was its only pastor until last
8 year; a resident of Olympia Fields, he was chaplain for Chicago
9 Vocational High School and Trinity Hospital and was active in
10 the Illinois District Council of the Pentecostal Assemblies of
11 the World, the South Shore Ministerial Alliance, and the
12 Chicago Alternative Policing Strategy program; and
 
13     WHEREAS, Bishop Southern was born in Camden, Mississippi in
14 1928 and grew up on a sharecropper farm; he moved to Chicago in
15 1950 and worked as a truck driver; he was baptized in 1957 and
16 received the gift of the Holy Ghost in 1958 before feeling a
17 call to the ministry; and
 
18     WHEREAS, The church became an active member of the Illinois
19 District Council and continued to grow; today the church has
20 about 300 members from all ages, from seniors in their 80s all
21 the way to young people; one of Bishop Southern's last outings
22 was a trip with some young people to a White Sox baseball game;

 

 

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1 he made sure the church provided those in need with school
2 supplies, warm clothing, and food baskets on a regular basis;
3 and
 
4     WHEREAS, In 1995 Bishop Southern was promoted to the office
5 of Suffragan Bishop; and
 
6     WHEREAS, Bishop Southern was preceded in death by his son,
7 Charles; and
 
8     WHEREAS, Bishop Cornelius Southern is survived by his wife,
9 Gussie Lee; his daughters, Beverly and Veronica; his sons,
10 Earl, Maurice, Cornelius Jr. and Larry; and 22 grandchildren.;
11 therefore, be it
 
12     RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
13 NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we
14 mourn, along with his family, friends, congregation, and people
15 whose lives he touched, the passing of Suffragan Bishop
16 Cornelius Southern; and be it further
 
17     RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
18 presented to the family of Suffragan Bishop Cornelius Southern
19 as a symbol of our sincere condolences.