Full Text of HR1291 99th General Assembly
HR1291 99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | 3 | | Representatives wish to congratulate the Second Baptist Church | 4 | | in Elgin on the occasion of its 150th anniversary; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, During the Civil War, on October 15, 1862, Rev. | 6 | | Benjamin Thomas of the First Baptist Church brought to
Elgin | 7 | | about 125 escaped slaves, mostly women and children, from | 8 | | plantations in Franklin County, Alabama; they
fled behind the | 9 | | lines of the Union Army; this group of refugees, joined later | 10 | | by husbands and fathers,
established the African-American | 11 | | community of Elgin and formed the nucleus of Second Baptist | 12 | | Church; and
| 13 | | WHEREAS, Worship first took the form of camp meetings at | 14 | | Colby's Grove; informal services of
prayers and songs took | 15 | | place at the home of Arthur Newsome; Rev. Adoniram J.
Joslyn | 16 | | and Harriett Cheney of First Baptist Church provided | 17 | | assistance; Second Baptist Church was formally
organized on | 18 | | December 2, 1866, with John Ford, Arthur Newsome, and Peter | 19 | | Newsome serving as trustees; its
first African-American | 20 | | minister was Rev. Richard DeBaptiste of Chicago, who served as | 21 | | pastor prior to his death in 1901; born free in Ohio, he came | 22 | | to Elgin to preach at the new church and
baptized many of the | 23 | | members; in the early days, even during the winter, baptisms |
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| 1 | | were conducted in the Fox River; and
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The first church building was a frame structure on | 3 | | Center Street facing Barclay Park; later, a portion of the | 4 | | church
moved to Dundee Avenue and remained there until March | 5 | | 28, 1875, when it was destroyed by fire; services were
then | 6 | | held in City Hall until a new brick structure was erected in | 7 | | 1876 on the northwest corner of Dundee
Avenue and Kimball | 8 | | Street; Newsome Park now rests on this site and was named in | 9 | | honor of the Newsome brothers
who were among the church | 10 | | organizers; and | 11 | | WHEREAS, By 1959, the church had grown in membership and | 12 | | the building and its contents were rapidly depreciating; the | 13 | | members of Second Baptist Church moved into their new house of | 14 | | worship on Franklin Boulevard on May 1, 1961; and | 15 | | WHEREAS, On November 21, 1984, Rev. Shirley Roberts was | 16 | | licensed as a minister and ordained on
September 29, 1991, | 17 | | becoming the first female minister in the history of the church | 18 | | and the
first African-American female to be licensed and | 19 | | ordained in the City of Elgin; and | 20 | | WHEREAS, Second Baptist Church moved into a new edifice on | 21 | | Summit Street on August 19, 1990; and |
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, Rev. Dr. Nathaniel L. Edmond was installed as the | 2 | | new pastor on February 20, 2000; under his leadership, the | 3 | | church has experienced tremendous growth; accomplishments | 4 | | include the nursery being refurbished and re-opening in May of | 5 | | 2000;
the first "Wonderful Wednesday" mid-week service | 6 | | commenced on February 7, 2001; a second Sunday morning worship | 7 | | service began in June of 2002; the church website was launched | 8 | | in July of 2002; Noon Day Bible Study began in July of 2005;
| 9 | | and a mentoring partnership with Sheridan Elementary School | 10 | | began in January of 2006; and | 11 | | WHEREAS, In March of 2006, a Children's Church was | 12 | | established to provide a service designed to meet the needs of | 13 | | children ages 6 to 12; and | 14 | | WHEREAS, In October of 2006, Pastor Edmond and First Lady | 15 | | Christine Edmond traveled to Africa as part of a World Vision | 16 | | International missionary trip; the church sponsored two | 17 | | children in Tanzania; the number grew to 132 by February of | 18 | | 2007; and | 19 | | WHEREAS, Then United States Senate Candidate Barack Obama | 20 | | visited
Second Baptist Church on May 11, 2003; his campaign | 21 | | slogan was "A Chance to Believe Again"; embarking on
a | 22 | | grassroots campaign to build support in the State, he visited | 23 | | the church to introduce himself
to the community and to field |
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| 1 | | questions from potential voters; and
| 2 | | WHEREAS, Second Baptist Church operates a Young Adult | 3 | | Ministry, Public Relations Ministry, Prison Ministry, Bus | 4 | | Ministry, Divine Arts Ministry, Information Technology | 5 | | Ministry, Children's Church, Youth Ministry, SAFE (Standing | 6 | | Against Abuse for Everyone) Ministry, Empowerment Ministry, | 7 | | and League of Military Veterans Ministry in order to spread its | 8 | | message and reach the community; therefore, be it
| 9 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 10 | | NINETY-NINTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we | 11 | | congratulate Second Baptist Church on its 150th anniversary and | 12 | | wish them many more years of success; and be it further
| 13 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 14 | | presented to Second Baptist Church as an expression of our | 15 | | esteem and respect.
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