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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church is
3the first national black denomination in the country; it was
4founded by a former slave, activist, and abolitionist Richard
5Allen in Philadelphia in 1816 and other members who broke away
6from St. George's Methodist Church in protest of racial
7discrimination; and
 
8    WHEREAS, The Trinity African Methodist Episcopal Church,
9founded in Waukegan in 1904, is Lake County's 2nd oldest black
10congregation; and
 
11    WHEREAS, Trinity AME Church was established by a small
12group of Christian men and women, including its first pastor,
13Reverend Harry Johnson; in 1913, the congregation built its
14first church at 541 Oak Street on Waukegan's South Side; and
 
15    WHEREAS, Forty-three years later, the burgeoning
16congregation held an estimated 600 families under the
17leadership of Reverend Robert Thomas, who administrated the new
18church building at the current location of 210 South Avenue;
19and
 
20    WHEREAS, Trinity AME Church is known as the birthplace of
21many churches in Lake County because numerous other churches,

 

 

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1including Shiloh Baptist, Mount Zion Baptist, and Eternal
2Flame, as well as dozens of pastors, sprang from its
3membership; and
 
4    WHEREAS, The church served as a leader in the civil rights
5movement in Lake County; it was noted by longtime member and
6historian Barbara Gordon that, "There was a time when blacks
7couldn't go anywhere else to hold a meeting. This was the place
8that you could come to hold your meetings."; and
 
9    WHEREAS, Volunteers from the church help run a free weekly
10farmers market for neighborhood residents in the month of
11August, the same month that it holds CaresFest, an annual
12back-to-school event that includes a giveaway of up to 1,000
13backpacks stuffed with various supplies; and
 
14    WHEREAS, Beginning in the 1970s, the church's community
15center provided social services to the neighborhood that
16included free meals, a food bank, counseling, and child care;
17the church was also known for its stirring and heavily attended
18annual Easter Pageant; and
 
19    WHEREAS, The church is active in outreach efforts by
20various church groups, which include support for orphanages in
21South Africa, other overseas missions, the adoption of a
22Hurricane Katrina family, student clothing drives for nearby

 

 

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1Carman-Buckner School and residents at a battered women's
2shelter, HIV/AIDS awareness, recognition of aging veterans,
3Habitat for Humanity, visits to the sick and homebound, health
4and wellness activities, and much more; and
 
5    WHEREAS, Trinity AME Church's first female pastor,
6Reverend Janice Brazil Cummings, came to the church in November
7of 2012; she is known for her compassion, community outreach,
8and teaching on the abundant life; and
 
9    WHEREAS, The Trinity AME Church's 110th Year Anniversary
10theme is "Celebrating Our Past, Honoring the Present and
11Embracing our Future"; the church will celebrate the milestone
12on September 13, 2014; therefore, be it
 
13    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
14NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
15we congratulate the congregation of Trinity AME Church on the
16occasion of the church's 110th anniversary and wish the
17continued success and happiness in the future; and be it
18further
 
19    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
20presented to the Trinity AME Church as a symbol of our esteem
21and respect.