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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3Representatives are pleased to congratulate the members and
4staff of Covenant United Church of Christ on their 16th
5anniversary; and
 
6    WHEREAS, Formally established in 1996, the vision behind
7Covenant United Church of Christ (UCC) was first conceived of
8in 1995 when the former Thornridge UCC closed its doors in the
9same location; having dwindled to 8 members, the church held
10its final service Easter Sunday morning; and
 
11    WHEREAS, The Illinois Conference of the United Church of
12Christ set out to fill the void with a new church; Reverend
13Ozzie E. Smith, Jr. had a vision that the new church would be a
14church always in the mode of "becoming a new thing" (Isaiah
1543:19); it would not be a church weighed down by anchors of
16tradition; it would be a people-friendly, biblically literate,
17Christ-centered, spirit-filled church that lived out in its
18ministry, the tangible fruits of its mission statement: "to be
19a people of Afro-sensitive faith empowered by Christ, embracing
20its culture in shared ministry"; and
 
21    WHEREAS, Based upon this vision, Reverend Dr. Ozzie E.
22Smith, Jr. was called to organize, develop, and pastor Covenant

 

 

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1United Church of Christ; on Easter Sunday, April 7, 1996, one
2year from the time Thornridge UCC had closed its doors,
3Covenant United Church of Christ opened its doors; and
 
4    WHEREAS, That first Sunday 24 members joined; during that
5year the choir was organized, the first Associate Pastor was
6added to the staff, a 3 night Vacation Bible School was held, 2
7$500 college scholarships were awarded, 125 Thanksgiving
8baskets were given away, and 40 families were adopted for
9Christmas; and
 
10    WHEREAS, In April of 1997, the church celebrated its first
11anniversary and the official Installation Service for its
12Pastor, Reverend Dr. Ozzie E. Smith, Jr.; that same year, the
13church experienced phenomenal growth, a second service was
14added, the parking lot was expanded, 7 deacons were ordained,
15and the first confirmation class was confirmed; and
 
16    WHEREAS, After 5 years of prayer, praise, and faithful
17giving, ground was broken for the new sanctuary in 2001; on
18Easter Sunday, March 31, 2002, with a membership of over 1,200,
19the congregation moved into the new sanctuary; and
 
20    WHEREAS, Now with over 2,500 members and almost 40
21ministries, Covenant is the fastest growing congregation in the
22United Church of Christ and one of the fastest growing in the

 

 

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1Chicagoland area; the mortgage was burned on December 31, 2007;
2a Family Life Center is being planned; and adjacent property
3was acquired, known as CUCC North; therefore, be it
 
4    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
5NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
6we congratulate the members and staff of Covenant United Church
7of Christ on this occasion and wish them the best for years to
8come; and be it further
 
9    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
10presented to Reverend Dr. Ozzie E. Smith, Jr., on behalf of the
11members of Covenant United Church of Christ, as a symbol of our
12respect and esteem.