Illinois General Assembly - Full Text of HR1259
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Full Text of HR1259  100th General Assembly

HR1259 100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY


  

 


 
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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3Representatives wish to congratulate the First Baptist Church
4of Orion on the occasion of its 175th anniversary and its
5tradition of faithful ministry to the local community; and
 
6    WHEREAS, The church, originally known as the Mount Pleasant
7Baptist Church, was founded in 1843 in the home of Nathan W.
8Washburn as a result of the missionary work of the Reverend
9Thomas Powell; and
 
10    WHEREAS, The church faced many difficulties in its early
11years and nearly disbanded in the late 1850s when most of the
12original members moved away; and
 
13    WHEREAS, The remaining members committed that "as long as
14two were present", there would always be meetings; and
 
15    WHEREAS, This faithfulness sustained the church; in 1866,
16its members built the first official church building in Orion,
17debt free; and
 
18    WHEREAS, Equipped with a new building, the congregation
19began to expand, creating a Union Sunday School and purchasing
20a parsonage for $1,100 in 1881; and
 

 

 

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1    WHEREAS, In 1892, in order to serve members of the
2congregation who lived many miles from Orion, the church
3established a new branch in Warner, which lasted until 1921;
4and
 
5    WHEREAS, The church continued to grow and thrive, and in
6the summer of 1897, a new and expanded building was built and
7rededicated in October of that year; and
 
8    WHEREAS, During the First World War, the congregation sent
9weekly letters to the young men and boys of the church who
10served in the conflict; and
 
11    WHEREAS, In 1918, under the supervision of the Shining
12Lights Society, a new pipe organ was installed in the church,
13an instrument that has provided 100 years of music and worship
14for the congregation; and
 
15    WHEREAS, In 1920, the church adopted a new constitution,
16formally changing its name from the Mount Pleasant Baptist
17Church to the First Baptist Church of Orion; and
 
18    WHEREAS, During the Second World War, 26 young men and two
19young women of the church served in the armed forces; and
 

 

 

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1    WHEREAS, In 1943, renovations and upgrades were
2continually made to the church; the congregation celebrated its
3l00th anniversary by staging a pageant, performed by
4descendants of the first settlers, that depicted the original
5members of the church and recounted the founding of the church;
6and
 
7    WHEREAS, In 1962, the church was cited as the Town and
8Country Church of the Year at the Illinois Baptist State
9Convention; and
 
10    WHEREAS, Throughout the rest of the 20th Century and into
11the 21st Century, the First Baptist Church of Orion, a member
12of the Southern Baptist Convention, has continued to be a
13pillar of the community; therefore, be it
 
14    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE
15HUNDREDTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we
16congratulate the First Baptist Church of Orion on its 175th
17anniversary, and we wish it 175 more years of continued
18faithfulness and dedication to the surrounding community; and
19be it further
 
20    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
21presented to the Reverend Jerry Higdon and the congregation of
22the First Baptist Church of Orion.