Full Text of HR0645 100th General Assembly
HR0645 100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | 3 | | Representatives wish to recognize the 150th anniversary of the | 4 | | founding of Main Baptist Church in Aurora; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, Main Baptist Church had its beginning in the Park | 6 | | Place Baptist Church under the guidance of Rev. Buttons; the | 7 | | church was instrumental in the transportation of runaway slaves | 8 | | to Aurora by way of the Underground Railroad; as the number of | 9 | | African American church members grew, they felt the need for | 10 | | their own place of worship, and so in June of 1867, the Colored | 11 | | Baptist Church of Aurora was founded; and
| 12 | | WHEREAS, Around the 1890s, a frame church was erected on | 13 | | the present site and the name of the church became Third | 14 | | Baptist; and
| 15 | | WHEREAS, On November 24, 1924, Third Baptist Church was | 16 | | torn down and worship services were held in the Grand Army of | 17 | | the Republic Hall, the Aurora City Hall, the Labor Temple, and | 18 | | various other places; on August 23, 1925, Rev. G. W. Alexander | 19 | | preached the sermon for the "Laying of the Cornerstone" at the | 20 | | church's current location and it was renamed Main Street | 21 | | Baptist Church; and |
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, During the first 48 years, the following Ministers | 2 | | served as pastor (though not necessarily in
this order): Rev. | 3 | | E.R. Moore, Rev. Edward Robinson, Rev. William Webster, Rev. | 4 | | Ernhouse, Rev. E.H.
Beverly, Rev. John Ford, Rev. E.H. Norden, | 5 | | Rev. George Dickerson, Rev. Hackney, Rev. Vernon Cooper,
Rev. | 6 | | William Gray, Rev. B.P.E. Gayles, Rev. C.B. Smith, and Rev. | 7 | | Alton Blake; and | 8 | | WHEREAS, Rev. Joseph Griffin served as pastor from November | 9 | | of 1949 until November of 1954; in April of 1955, Rev.
Robert | 10 | | Wesby became pastor and served until November of 1963; and | 11 | | WHEREAS, In 1964, due to the changing names of many streets | 12 | | in Aurora, the church became known as Main Baptist Church; and | 13 | | WHEREAS, On May 14, 1964, Rev. Robert Edward Morgan
became | 14 | | pastor; he added new women trustees, a first in the life of the | 15 | | church; they were Sisters Estella Smith, Martha Dade, Tommie | 16 | | Wells, Eunice Tresenwriter, and Donna Williams; he also added | 17 | | deacons, deaconesses, Mother's Board, Nurses Aid Guild, Men's | 18 | | Club, Church Council, Youth Fellowship, and many more | 19 | | organizations; he served until 1972; and | 20 | | WHEREAS, Dezo McGill became pastor on August 12, 1973; on | 21 | | June 8, 1980, the church mortgage was "burned"; Pastor McGill | 22 | | started the African Crusade Ministry, a team that traveled to |
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| 1 | | Zimbabwe,
Africa for over 25 years, providing outreach to | 2 | | thousands of individuals; he retired in October of 2006 after | 3 | | 32 years; and | 4 | | WHEREAS, Main Baptist Church is currently led by Rev. Dr. | 5 | | Julian E. Spencer, who joined the church on June 2, 2007; and
| 6 | | WHEREAS, Main Baptist Church continues to grow and move | 7 | | forward as a spiritual pillar in the community; therefore, be | 8 | | it
| 9 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | 10 | | HUNDREDTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we | 11 | | recognize the 150th anniversary of the founding of Main Baptist | 12 | | Church in Aurora, and we wish them many more wonderful years; | 13 | | and be it further
| 14 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 15 | | presented to Main Baptist Church as a symbol of our respect and | 16 | | esteem.
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