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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3Representatives are pleased to congratulate Pastor J.C. Smith
4on the 50th anniversary of his ministry; and
 
5    WHEREAS, Pastor Smith is a native of Montgomery, Alabama;
6while there, he worked with Dr. M.L. King and Dr. Ralph
7Abernathy from 1955-1957 in the Montgomery Improvement
8Association during the bus boycott; he also worked as an
9insurance salesman for North Carolina Mutual from 1958-1962 and
10was the owner and operator of Smith's Clothing Store; in 1963,
11he moved to Harvey and became a licensed real estate salesman
12with the Blake Realty Company; he also became a journeyman
13carpenter and worked for 10 years for several general
14contractors before forming his own remodeling business; and
 
15    WHEREAS, In 1964, Pastor Smith accepted his call to preach
16and enrolled in the Chicago Baptist Institute Seminary,
17graduating in 1972; he was a founding member of the Bethlehem
18Temple Baptist Church in Harvey in 1969 and has served as its
19pastor since its inception; under his leadership, the church
20has experienced phenomenal growth and is a staple in the south
21suburbs and the greater Chicago area; in June of 2001, he
22extended the ministry to the northwest suburbs, and, in October
23of 2003, Bethlehem Temple Baptist Church moved into its own

 

 

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1building in Elk Grove Village; and
 
2    WHEREAS, In the spring of 2002, Pastor Smith received
3special recognition from the YMCA for community service at its
4annual "Night Under the Stars", and, in July 2002, he was
5presented with an honorary doctorate degree from the Mt. Carmel
6Theological Seminary in Fresno, California; he has been listed
7in Who's Who Among Black Americans (1977-1978) (1980-1981) and
8has received numerous awards for his service to his country,
9community, and church; and
 
10    WHEREAS, Pastor Smith and the church have operated a summer
11day camp for the past 8 years for children ages 4-15; in 2001,
12the first summer basketball camp was held; in 1995, the
13Bethlehem Community Development Corporation was organized with
14him as executive director, and under the BCDC, the Bethlehem
15Village Housing Complex, a 72-unit building (which is now 100%
16occupied), was built across the street from the church; and
 
17    WHEREAS, Pastor Smith served as president of the
18Progressive Baptist State Congress from 1996 to 1999, while
19also serving as vice-president of the South Suburban Ministers
20Fellowship; he has served as president of the Progressive
21National Baptist Convention Moderators Council for 4 years from
221992 to 1996, and, in 2003, he was elected and served as
23president of the Progressive Baptist State Convention of

 

 

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1Illinois until 2007; for over 40 years, he served his community
2as a school board member (Dist. #147), and for 20 of those
3years, he served as president; he currently serves as president
4of the board; he has also served 2 years as vice-president of
5the National Caucus of Black School Board members from 1980 to
61982; in August of 2000, he was a delegate to the Democratic
7National Convention in Los Angeles, California; and
 
8    WHEREAS, Pastor Smith served in the military from 1951 to
91953 and graduated from the Weaver's School of Real Estate in
101958; he is married to Willie M. Myricks-Smith, and, on June 3,
112011, they celebrated their 55th year of marriage; he is a
12father of 5 children, Jennifer, Jonathan, Jeffrey, Jerrold, and
13Jacques, and a grandfather of 14; therefore, be it
 
14    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
15NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
16we congratulate Pastor J.C. Smith on the 50th anniversary of
17his ministry and wish him many more years; and be it further
 
18    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
19presented to Pastor Smith as an expression of our esteem and
20respect.