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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
recognize significant | ||||||
4 | contributions made by the people and communities of the State; | ||||||
5 | and | ||||||
6 | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | ||||||
7 | Representatives wish to congratulate the Greater
New Hope | ||||||
8 | Missionary Baptist Church of East St. Louis on the occasion of | ||||||
9 | its 100th anniversary celebration on October 11, 2014; and | ||||||
10 | WHEREAS, In 1913, Rev. J.L. McBride, a local minister of | ||||||
11 | the Mount Olive Baptist
Church, was asked by that congregation | ||||||
12 | and pastor, Rev. Borders, to begin a mission in
the east end | ||||||
13 | section of the city, a section of town predominantly settled | ||||||
14 | with people of Polish descent; Rev. McBride organized a few | ||||||
15 | Christians who were living in this
section, with Mount Olive | ||||||
16 | Baptist Church serving as the mother
church; and | ||||||
17 | WHEREAS, These few faithful and loyal members worked | ||||||
18 | untiringly, adding new
members to the mission roll during its | ||||||
19 | first year; in 1914, a council was called consisting of pastors | ||||||
20 | and churches; a new church was organized and given the name New | ||||||
21 | Hope; and |
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1 | WHEREAS, In 1914, New Hope was born; the original church | ||||||
2 | (later known as the Little Hall) was bought by Bro. Marion E. | ||||||
3 | Officer; a new church building was erected in 1916; and | ||||||
4 | WHEREAS, In 1920, the congregation grew to the point that | ||||||
5 | the building had to be
enlarged because of the increase in | ||||||
6 | membership; the remodeling program cost $5,000, and New Hope | ||||||
7 | continued to grow in size, spiritual influence, and physical | ||||||
8 | plant; out of
this period of church history came ministers W.P. | ||||||
9 | Alexander and Calvin Fearn, nationally
known church missionary | ||||||
10 | Annette Officer, and Rev. J.L. McBride, who served as
Moderator | ||||||
11 | of New Salem District Association and Vice-President of the | ||||||
12 | Baptist General
State Convention of Illinois; and | ||||||
13 | WHEREAS, Around 1935, a group of young women, spearheaded | ||||||
14 | by Annette Harris
Officer, started a building program; she | ||||||
15 | secured the services of the Works
Progress Administration, and | ||||||
16 | a partial basement
was added; and | ||||||
17 | WHEREAS, In 1944, the health of Rev. McBride, the first | ||||||
18 | pastor of New Hope, begin to
fail; he was retired by the church | ||||||
19 | but continued to attend church and preach when able
until his | ||||||
20 | death in 1945; and | ||||||
21 | WHEREAS, In 1944, Rev. William Peter Alexander was called | ||||||
22 | to become the second
pastor of New Hope; the Sunday School and |
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1 | Baptist Training Union were revamped by
Rev. Alexander, and a | ||||||
2 | Christian Education Program was initiated; one of its early
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3 | programs was a foundation to aid in academic education of young | ||||||
4 | people who were
members of the church; a tutoring and study | ||||||
5 | hall program was put into operation, and
special days to honor | ||||||
6 | high school and college graduates were instituted; State grants | ||||||
7 | were also secured to sponsor summer camps for underprivileged | ||||||
8 | children in the church and
community; this activity was | ||||||
9 | spearheaded by Fannie Jones and Bernice Howell
for many years; | ||||||
10 | the church progress was natural for Rev. Alexander who was also | ||||||
11 | President
of Congress of Christian Education for the Baptist | ||||||
12 | State Convention of Illinois, a post he
held for more than 30 | ||||||
13 | years; and | ||||||
14 | WHEREAS, In 1946, the congregation continued to grow under | ||||||
15 | Rev. Alexander's
leadership; the front entrance of the church | ||||||
16 | was changed, a complete basement was built,
and it became | ||||||
17 | necessary to enlarge the church again; a new wing was erected | ||||||
18 | and the
building was able to seat more than 600 people; and | ||||||
19 | WHEREAS, On September 14, 1962, one of the founding | ||||||
20 | members, Sis. Jesse B. Petty,
suffered a stroke as she sat in | ||||||
21 | her home behind the church and watched a newly renovated
New | ||||||
22 | Hope burn for 3 hours as trains prolonged the arrival of | ||||||
23 | additional fire-fighting
equipment; the "Friendly Church on | ||||||
24 | The Highway" was destroyed after 48 years
of existence; the |
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1 | pastor and more than 500 members were determined to rebuild
and | ||||||
2 | set about the business of rebuilding; and | ||||||
3 | WHEREAS, The present edifice was entered in 1964, | ||||||
4 | incomplete and with a 30-year
mortgage; Bro. Marion E. Officer | ||||||
5 | purchased the organ, the stained glass, and other
prominences | ||||||
6 | for the church; the church name changed on the occasion of the | ||||||
7 | rebuilding
and the present name of Greater New Hope Missionary | ||||||
8 | Baptist was adopted to signify its structural
improvement and | ||||||
9 | the magnitude of its members' faith; and | ||||||
10 | WHEREAS, Rev. Alexander continued as the second pastor of | ||||||
11 | Greater New Hope
until becoming infirmed in early 1977 and | ||||||
12 | expiring suddenly on May 31, 1977; he was
dubbed the "Dean of | ||||||
13 | Ministers" in East St. Louis; he was a living legend in | ||||||
14 | religious circles
and left a legacy of Christian performance to | ||||||
15 | the membership; at the time of his death, he
had served as | ||||||
16 | Moderator of the New Salem District for many years, as | ||||||
17 | President of the
New Salem Congress for a long tenure, and as | ||||||
18 | President of the Baptist General State
Congress of Christian | ||||||
19 | Education until death; he did not live to see the mortgage | ||||||
20 | burned,
but his leadership paved the way for the mortgage | ||||||
21 | payments on the edifice to be
completed in 17 years; and | ||||||
22 | WHEREAS, On October 30, 1977, the membership gathered to | ||||||
23 | observe the burning of
the 1964 mortgage, paid in full on March |
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1 | 31, 1977 under the pastorate of the beloved late
shepherd; his | ||||||
2 | dream and task for Greater New Hope was complete; and | ||||||
3 | WHEREAS, In 1978, a search for a new minister began; Rev. | ||||||
4 | Richard Temple
was placed in charge of the pulpit and remained | ||||||
5 | there from June 1978 until December
1978; and
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6 | WHEREAS, On October 18, 1978, Rev. David Crockett was | ||||||
7 | elected pastor of Greater New Hope Missionary Baptist Church; | ||||||
8 | he accepted this position on November 18, 1978 and began duties | ||||||
9 | as
pastor on December 4, 1978; and
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10 | WHEREAS, On February 25, 1979, Rev. David Crockett was | ||||||
11 | installed as the fourth
pastor of Greater New Hope Missionary | ||||||
12 | Baptist Church and presently holds this position; under his
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13 | leadership in 1982, the Awards and Recognition Committees were | ||||||
14 | organized, and, in 1983,
26 members received Golden Leaves for | ||||||
15 | longevity of 70 years and older; 23 members
called Foundation | ||||||
16 | Stone with 50 years of continuous membership were honored; and | ||||||
17 | members having from 25 to 50 years of continuous
membership | ||||||
18 | were recognized; the oldest female was Sis. Mattie Thigpen who | ||||||
19 | was 96 years old, joining
in 1916 and staying a continuous | ||||||
20 | member for 71 years; the oldest male was Bro. Eli Porter
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21 | Turnage who joined New Hope in 1922 and had been a continuous | ||||||
22 | member for 65 years; and
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1 | WHEREAS, Presently, Rev. Crockett has served as pastor of | ||||||
2 | Greater New Hope
Missionary Baptist for over 35 years and has | ||||||
3 | instituted the idea of total
membership involvement, | ||||||
4 | re-emphasizing the need for a christian educated
congregation, | ||||||
5 | and has focused on a total ministry to include children, youth, | ||||||
6 | young adults,
older adults, and seniors; the church is blessed | ||||||
7 | with a bus and van for those without
transportation to church; | ||||||
8 | a tape ministry to record worship for the sick and shut-in is
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9 | also available; and
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10 | WHEREAS, Rev. Crockett envisions the Greater New Hope | ||||||
11 | Missionary Baptist Church as a focal
point of evangelism in the | ||||||
12 | community; and
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13 | WHEREAS, Greater New Hope Missionary Baptist Church has | ||||||
14 | been a beacon of light in the community for l00 years and | ||||||
15 | should be commended for its untiring, dedicated work and | ||||||
16 | services; therefore, be it
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17 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | ||||||
18 | NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | ||||||
19 | we congratulate Greater
New Hope Missionary Baptist Church of | ||||||
20 | East St. Louis on the occasion of its 100th anniversary | ||||||
21 | celebration on October 11, 2014; and be it further
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22 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be |
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1 | presented to Greater New Hope Baptist Church as an expression | ||||||
2 | of our esteem and respect.
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