Full Text of HR1248 98th General Assembly
HR1248 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
| 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
| 8 | | WHEREAS, The Trinity African Methodist Episcopal Church, | 9 | | founded in Waukegan in 1904, is Lake County's 2nd oldest black | 10 | | congregation; and
| 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
| 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
| 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
| 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
| 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
| 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
| 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
| 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
| 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
| 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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