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1 | HOUSE RESOLUTION
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2 | WHEREAS, Representative Monique D. Davis and the members of | ||||||
3 | the Illinois House of Representatives are pleased to recognize | ||||||
4 | Reverend Dr. Johnnie Colemon, founder and minister of Christ | ||||||
5 | Universal Temple, on her being selected as the First Annual | ||||||
6 | Living Legends Award recipient by the Westside Center of Truth | ||||||
7 | for Better Living; and
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8 | WHEREAS, Rev. Dr. Colemon has been a trailblazer of | ||||||
9 | positive thought teachings and became a religious icon in this | ||||||
10 | country and abroad over her more than 50 years of ministry; she | ||||||
11 | grew her membership from 6 people sitting around a kitchen | ||||||
12 | table in her home to approximately 15,000 members and built a | ||||||
13 | 4,000-plus seating capacity mega church, a 20-classroom | ||||||
14 | teaching facility, a state-of-the-art elementary school (The | ||||||
15 | Johnnie Colemon Academy), and a 1,000-plus seat banquet | ||||||
16 | facility (The Legacy); and
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17 | WHEREAS, Rev. Dr. Colemon enrolled in the Unity School of | ||||||
18 | Practical Christianity, Lee's Summit, Missouri, where she | ||||||
19 | received her teaching certificate and became an ordained | ||||||
20 | minister; she has pioneered many "firsts" while at Unity, | ||||||
21 | including being the first black person to live at Unity Village | ||||||
22 | and the first to have been elected president of the Association | ||||||
23 | of Unity Churches; and
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1 | WHEREAS, Rev. Dr. Colemon organized the Universal | ||||||
2 | Foundation For Better Living, Incorporated in 1974 in | ||||||
3 | connection with the International New Thought Alliance (INTA); | ||||||
4 | as a member of the INTA, she served as the district president | ||||||
5 | and was chairperson of the 80th INTA Congress held in Chicago; | ||||||
6 | her extensive travels have taken her to London, England, to be | ||||||
7 | guest speaker at the festival of Mind and Body; and
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8 | WHEREAS, Rev. Dr. Colemon was an early pioneer of media | ||||||
9 | ministry in the 1970s and appeared weekly with her telecast, | ||||||
10 | Better Living With Johnnie Colemon, which aired in 9 markets; | ||||||
11 | she has been the subject of featured articles and broadcasts, | ||||||
12 | and major media publications, and has been a popular guest on | ||||||
13 | radio and television; and
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14 | WHEREAS, Rev. Dr. Colemon has been the recipient of | ||||||
15 | numerous honors and awards; she has received the Ministry Of | ||||||
16 | The Century Award from the INTA and an honorary Doctor of | ||||||
17 | Divinity Degree from her alma mater, Wiley College in Texas; | ||||||
18 | she obtained her degree of Doctor of Humane Letters and a | ||||||
19 | Doctor of Divinity from Monrovia College and Industrial | ||||||
20 | Institute of African Methodist Episcopal Church in Monrovia, | ||||||
21 | Liberia; she has received proclamations from the State of | ||||||
22 | Illinois, City of Chicago, State of Michigan, Ohio House of | ||||||
23 | Representatives, Michigan Legislature, City of Oakland, |
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1 | California, City of Miami, Florida, and many others; her | ||||||
2 | portrait hangs at Morehouse College in the Martin Luther King | ||||||
3 | Jr. International Center; she served as director of the Chicago | ||||||
4 | Port Authority and as commissioner of the Chicago Transit | ||||||
5 | Authority Oversight Committee; she has been recognized as | ||||||
6 | Chicago's Living Legends by the Institute for African American | ||||||
7 | Youth Development and honored by the DuSable Museum as an | ||||||
8 | African American History Maker; and | ||||||
9 | WHEREAS, The Johnnie Colemon Academy opened on September 7, | ||||||
10 | 1999, and is the most recent addition to the 32-acre campus; in | ||||||
11 | February 2001, the elementary school became one of the Chicago | ||||||
12 | public schools and serves as a model learning center; in 2006, | ||||||
13 | Rev. Dr. Colemon retired as Senior Minister of Christ Universal | ||||||
14 | Temple, but continues to be a driving force for the ministry | ||||||
15 | she founded and led for over 50 years; and | ||||||
16 | WHEREAS, Rev. Dr. Colemon will be honored at the First | ||||||
17 | Annual Living Legends Awards Banquet on February 23, 2013, at | ||||||
18 | The Legacy in Chicago, Illinois; therefore, be it
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19 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | ||||||
20 | NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | ||||||
21 | we recognize Reverend Dr. Johnnie Colemon on her being selected | ||||||
22 | as the First Annual Living Legends Award recipient by the | ||||||
23 | Westside Center of Truth for Better Living; and be it further
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1 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | ||||||
2 | presented to Rev. Dr. Johnnie Colemon as an expression of our | ||||||
3 | esteem and respect.
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