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| 1 | HOUSE RESOLUTION
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| 2 | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | ||||||
| 3 | Representatives are pleased to congratulate Bishop Paul A. | ||||||
| 4 | Stewart Sr. on the occasion of his retirement as Bishop of the | ||||||
| 5 | Christian Methodist Episcopal Church (C.M.E.); and
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| 6 | WHEREAS, Bishop Stewart was elected the 50th bishop of the | ||||||
| 7 | Christian Methodist Episcopal Church on July 1, 1998, in the | ||||||
| 8 | Thirty-Third Quadrennial Session and the Thirty-Fourth General | ||||||
| 9 | Conference in Birmingham, Alabama; he was assigned to the Fifth | ||||||
| 10 | Episcopal District, comprising the states of Alabama and | ||||||
| 11 | Florida; in the Thirty-Fourth Quadrennial Session and the | ||||||
| 12 | Thirty-Fifth General Conference of the C.M.E. Church in | ||||||
| 13 | Atlanta, Georgia, from June 29-July 7, 2002, he was assigned to | ||||||
| 14 | the Third Episcopal District, covering the southeast Missouri, | ||||||
| 15 | Illinois & Wisconsin Region, the Michigan-Indiana Region, and | ||||||
| 16 | the Kansas-Missouri Region, with churches in 9 midwestern | ||||||
| 17 | states; and
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| 18 | WHEREAS, Bishop Stewart has served faithfully as a local | ||||||
| 19 | pastor of C.M.E. congregations and has been recognized as a | ||||||
| 20 | gifted counselor, educator, and administrator at institutions | ||||||
| 21 | across the U.S.; he has been an active participant in | ||||||
| 22 | community, ecumenical, civic, social, and civil rights | ||||||
| 23 | affairs; he has worked with the NAACP and is a life member and | ||||||
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| 1 | has served on the NAACP Executive Board of Durham, North | ||||||
| 2 | Carolina; and
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| 3 | WHEREAS, Bishop Stewart has provided superior leadership | ||||||
| 4 | in the Third Episcopal District which includes Chicago and | ||||||
| 5 | surrounding communities; he has aided in the erecting or | ||||||
| 6 | purchasing of 6 modern churches and an Episcopal residence, the | ||||||
| 7 | renovating of numerous churches, the enabling of 10 ministers | ||||||
| 8 | to secure Doctor of Ministry Degrees, and the extensive | ||||||
| 9 | increase of Church Growth and Development Ministries; and
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| 10 | WHEREAS, Bishop Stewart is the Chaplaincy Endorsing Agent | ||||||
| 11 | for the C.M.E. Church, a member of the board of trustees for | ||||||
| 12 | Phillips School of Theology in Atlanta, Georgia, the chair of | ||||||
| 13 | the Program Committee of the Annual CME Unity Summit, the chair | ||||||
| 14 | of the Board of Personal Service of the CME Church, vice-chair | ||||||
| 15 | of the Conference of National Black Churches, a member of the | ||||||
| 16 | board of trustees of Miles College in Birmingham, Alabama, and | ||||||
| 17 | an active leader in many religious and civic organizations; and
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| 18 | WHEREAS, Bishop Stewart is married to Mrs. M Earline | ||||||
| 19 | Stewart; they are parents of Gloria Jean Stewart-Wicks, Paul | ||||||
| 20 | Jr., and Shinar LaDonna Stewart-Parnell (Dana Parnell) and | ||||||
| 21 | grandparents of Kimberly D. Wicks, Dylan Andrew, and Noah | ||||||
| 22 | Jordan Parnell; therefore, be it
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| 1 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | ||||||
| 2 | NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | ||||||
| 3 | we congratulate Bishop Stewart on his retirement as Bishop of | ||||||
| 4 | the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church and wish him all the | ||||||
| 5 | best in his future endeavours; and be it further
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| 6 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | ||||||
| 7 | presented to Bishop Stewart as an expression of our esteem and | ||||||
| 8 | respect.
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