HR0582 93RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0582 LRB093 14103 HSS 40183 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of this Body wish to congratulate Elder Charles Mason Ford, Pastor of the St. Paul Church of God in Christ of Chicago, on being selected to be Auxiliary Bishop of the Church of God in Christ; and

WHEREAS, Charles Mason Ford was born on January 3, 1936 in Chicago to Bishop L.H. Ford and Margaret Little Ford; and

WHEREAS, Bishop Ford served his church for several decades as its radio broadcast announcer, known as the "voice of St. Paul"; he served First Jurisdiction-Illinois as the Director of Urban Ministries and as Director of the "They Shall Be Fed Program" which distributed emergency food through 90 interdenominational churches; and

WHEREAS, Bishop Ford was ordained by his father, Bishop L.H. Ford, in 1982; in 1989, he was appointed Church of God in Christ, National Director of Urban Ministries; he was later appointed to represent the Church of God in Christ on the Board of Directors of the Congress of National Black Churches; he was selected Chairman of the Audit and Finance Committee; and

WHEREAS, Bishop Ford served at St. Paul as Assistant Pastor and then as Pastor in 1995; in 1997, he was appointed Superintendent of the Bishop Louis Henry Ford Memorial District; he was selected to serve on the Jurisdiction's Board of Directors and on the Board of Directors of the Jurisdiction's not-for-profit Moriah Corporation, which is responsible for its outreach and social service ministries; in 1999, he was appointed to the office of Administrative Assistant to Bishop Ocie Booker, Prelate of First Jurisdiction-Illinois; and

WHEREAS, In November of 2000, he was chosen by the General Assembly of the Church of God in Christ to be a member of the National Board of Trustees; his colleagues selected him to be the Chairman of the Board; he was recommended to become Auxiliary Bishop in 2001 and approved in May of 2003; and

WHEREAS, Bishop Ford is a retired public servant; he was the Deputy Commissioner of the City of Chicago's Department of Human Services, where he helped administer social services, community organizing, pre-school, and emergency service programs; and

WHEREAS, Bishop Ford's motto for the church is "A full time ministry, ministering full time to the entire family"; he has successfully negotiated and received government funding to build a 60-unit independent living senior citizens housing complex and a 24-unit building to house the disabled and their families; he has renovated a former CHA building to house St. Paul Community Development Ministries programs in the new St. Paul Family and Community Center; and

WHEREAS, Bishop Charles Ford has been married for 47 years to Marlene Rochelle (Ringer) Ford; they are the parents of 5 children, Elder Kevin, Louis, Jacqueline, Christi, and Corey, and grandparents of 7, Jeremy, Sharon, Charles, Brian, Mason, Kevin, and Brandon; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we congratulate Bishop Charles Ford on being selected to be Auxiliary Bishop of the Church of God in Christ; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to Bishop Charles Ford as an expression of our esteem.