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1 | HOUSE RESOLUTION
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2 | WHEREAS, The African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church is | ||||||
3 | the first national black denomination in the country; it was | ||||||
4 | founded by a former slave, activist, and abolitionist Richard | ||||||
5 | Allen in Philadelphia in 1816 and other members who broke away | ||||||
6 | from St. George's Methodist Church in protest of racial | ||||||
7 | discrimination; and
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8 | WHEREAS, The Trinity African Methodist Episcopal Church, | ||||||
9 | founded in Waukegan in 1904, is Lake County's 2nd oldest black | ||||||
10 | congregation; and
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11 | WHEREAS, Trinity AME Church was established by a small | ||||||
12 | group of Christian men and women, including its first pastor, | ||||||
13 | Reverend Harry Johnson; in 1913, the congregation built its | ||||||
14 | first church at 541 Oak Street on Waukegan's South Side; and
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15 | WHEREAS, Forty-three years later, the burgeoning | ||||||
16 | congregation held an estimated 600 families under the | ||||||
17 | leadership of Reverend Robert Thomas, who administrated the new | ||||||
18 | church building at the current location of 210 South Avenue; | ||||||
19 | and
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20 | WHEREAS, Trinity AME Church is known as the birthplace of | ||||||
21 | many churches in Lake County because numerous other churches, |
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1 | including Shiloh Baptist, Mount Zion Baptist, and Eternal | ||||||
2 | Flame, as well as dozens of pastors, sprang from its | ||||||
3 | membership; and
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4 | WHEREAS, The church served as a leader in the civil rights | ||||||
5 | movement in Lake County; it was noted by longtime member and | ||||||
6 | historian Barbara Gordon that, "There was a time when blacks | ||||||
7 | couldn't go anywhere else to hold a meeting. This was the place | ||||||
8 | that you could come to hold your meetings."; and
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9 | WHEREAS, Volunteers from the church help run a free weekly | ||||||
10 | farmers market for neighborhood residents in the month of | ||||||
11 | August, the same month that it holds CaresFest, an annual | ||||||
12 | back-to-school event that includes a giveaway of up to 1,000 | ||||||
13 | backpacks stuffed with various supplies; and
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14 | WHEREAS, Beginning in the 1970s, the church's community | ||||||
15 | center provided social services to the neighborhood that | ||||||
16 | included free meals, a food bank, counseling, and child care; | ||||||
17 | the church was also known for its stirring and heavily attended | ||||||
18 | annual Easter Pageant; and
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19 | WHEREAS, The church is active in outreach efforts by | ||||||
20 | various church groups, which include support for orphanages in | ||||||
21 | South Africa, other overseas missions, the adoption of a | ||||||
22 | Hurricane Katrina family, student clothing drives for nearby |
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1 | Carman-Buckner School and residents at a battered women's | ||||||
2 | shelter, HIV/AIDS awareness, recognition of aging veterans, | ||||||
3 | Habitat for Humanity, visits to the sick and homebound, health | ||||||
4 | and wellness activities, and much more; and
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5 | WHEREAS, Trinity AME Church's first female pastor, | ||||||
6 | Reverend Janice Brazil Cummings, came to the church in November | ||||||
7 | of 2012; she is known for her compassion, community outreach, | ||||||
8 | and teaching on the abundant life; and | ||||||
9 | WHEREAS, The Trinity AME Church's 110th Year Anniversary | ||||||
10 | theme is "Celebrating Our Past, Honoring the Present and | ||||||
11 | Embracing our Future"; the church will celebrate the milestone | ||||||
12 | on September 13, 2014; therefore, be it
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13 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | ||||||
14 | NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | ||||||
15 | we congratulate the congregation of Trinity AME Church on the | ||||||
16 | occasion of the church's 110th anniversary and wish the | ||||||
17 | continued success and happiness in the future; and be it | ||||||
18 | further
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19 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | ||||||
20 | presented to the Trinity AME Church as a symbol of our esteem | ||||||
21 | and respect.
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