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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3Representatives wish to congratulate the Pilgrim Baptist
4Church on the occasion of the 95th anniversary of its founding;
5and
 
6    WHEREAS, The history of Pilgrim Baptist Church began in May
7of 1917; there was no black Baptist church in Rockford, so
8Meissieurs Grant Madison, Louis Branch, Walter Brooks, and a
9gentleman named Banks organized a Sunday school and prayer
10meeting; the Reverend J.C. China was elected as the
11Superintendent of the Sunday school; the church was organized
12on August 6, 1917, at the home of Brother Grant Madison at 812
13West Street and was subsequently named Pilgrim Rest Baptist
14Church; and
 
15    WHEREAS, Twenty-two charter members took place at that
16first meeting, including Reverend J.C. China and Reverend
17Holden, Brothers Grant Madison, T.P. McGee, Thomas Cochran,
18Louis Branch, Robert Goza, E.P. Jones, Albert Earney, Ford
19Smith, and James Davis, Brother Banks and Brother Cook, Sisters
20M.A. Madison, Sarah Branch, Lillian Goza, Martha Rook, Mary
21Dulin, Delia Cochran, Rachel Jackson Flood and A. Smith, and
22Sister Johnson; and
 

 

 

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1    WHEREAS, The church called its first pastor, Reverend Mr.
2T.P. McGee in October 1917; under his leadership the property
3at 846 Montague Street was purchased; the entire congregation
4marched to their new location on the third Sunday in June 1918;
5in February of 1919, under the tutelage of Reverend G.W.
6Dudley, a new location was acquired on 812 West Street and
7occupied in July of that year and was considered the first
8"real" church building by its congregants; and
 
9    WHEREAS, In 1944, the Pilgrim Builders Club was formed to
10pay off the mortgage and plans were laid for remodeling the
11church; the word "Rest" was removed from the church name in
121947, and a year later work began on beautifying the church; in
131951, volunteers helped obtain pledges from members for the
14Building Fund drive; by 1954, serious consideration was being
15given to enlarging the building to give Pilgrim members a
16church home they could be proud of; and
 
17    WHEREAS, 1958 was a memorable year for the Pilgrim members;
18the Building Fund continued to grow, and in the fall the church
19came into possession of 3.7 acres of land on which to erect the
20new building; on the second Sunday in September, a dedication
21of service of thanksgiving for the new property was held at the
22site; and
 
23    WHEREAS, December of 1959 saw the church presented with

 

 

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1completed drawings for the new building; it was announced on
2March 30, 1960, that ground breaking would begin in April; the
3church moved into the new building on the 12th of March 1961;
4additions to the physical edifice have been many, including a
5mosaic completed in 1972; the mortgage for the new church was
6burned in April 1973; and
 
7    WHEREAS, The physical manifestations of this structure of
8hope will be for Pilgrim Baptist Church to have a nursing home
9for the elderly, a children's home for homeless youth, a center
10for preschoolers, a credit union, and a center for religious
11education; all of these will serve to realize Pilgrim's
12greatest dream, that the community and the church be one, a
13communion; therefore, be it
 
14    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
15NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
16we congratulate Pilgrim Baptist Church on their founding, their
17history, and wish them well with their future endeavors; and be
18it further
 
19    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
20presented to the members of the Pilgrim Baptist Church on the
21occasion of the celebration of their 95th anniversary.