HR0243 100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0243 LRB100 12056 MST 24142 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of Representatives wish to recognize the life and accomplishments of Bishop Larry Darnell Trotter; and

WHEREAS, Bishop Trotter was born and raised in Chicago, one of four children of Dorothy E. Trotter; during his teenage years, he was a sought after musician and minister of music; he organized gospel choirs and served as a youth pastor in Chicago area churches; and

WHEREAS, In 1976, Bishop Trotter was licensed and ordained both by Baptist and Church of God in Christ leadership; in 1981, he began to pastor the Sweet Holy Spirit Church; for 35 years, he has served as senior pastor of Chicago's historic Sweet Holy Spirit Church; under his leadership, the ministry has grown from 22 members in 1981 to well over 7,000 in 2016; and

WHEREAS, Bishop Trotter serves as the Chairman of Coalition of Bishop and Apostles for Global United Fellowship; he served as one of the founding fathers of the Full Gospel Baptist Church Fellowship, four years as presiding Prelate of United Covenant Churches of Christ, and currently serves as an overseer and spiritual advisor for several reformations, fellowships, and apostolic networks; and

WHEREAS, Bishop Trotter records gospel albums with his choir and has performed with them across the United States and on six continents; he has held seats on the Mayor's Advisory Council and the Judicial Board of the First Municipality Court of Illinois; he received an invitation to attend the Oxford Roundtable in England; he is the religious editor for Gospel Today Magazine, the Chairman of Clergy Speaks Interdenominational, and a board member of the African American College of Bishops; and

WHEREAS, Bishop Trotter has studied at The Moody Bible Institute, The Luther School of Theology, and The Southern Seminar; he is the recipient of several honorary degrees, including three honorary doctorates; he has received numerous community, political, social, and theological awards and accolades; he is a certified chef and trained at The Chicago School of Culinary Arts; and

WHEREAS, Bishop Trotter was instrumental in the election of the first African American Mayor of Chicago, Mayor Harold Washington, and the first African American President of the United States of America, President Barack Obama; and

WHEREAS, Bishop Trotter has authored and published six books; he has recorded nine award-winning gospel projects on both Scott Records and his own label, Utopia Music Group; and

WHEREAS, Bishop Trotter has ministered in nearly all of the United States and over 18 countries worldwide; he has preached to over 30,000 people in the New Orleans Superdome and to over two million people in Nigeria; he has led mission trips to Ethiopia, Finland, Ghana, Zimbabwe, Greece, and India; and

WHEREAS, Bishop Trotter has organized assistance for the people of Haiti, those devastated by Hurricane Katrina, and people in his community in need of food and clothing; he organized the C.A.R.E. Center for outreach ministries to serve Chicagoans and has also coordinated medical missions trips to assist with the AIDS epidemic in Africa, establishing three HIV/AIDS clinics there; and

WHEREAS, Bishop Trotter is a father of five, Laurice Trotter, Javon Trotter, Brandi Trotter, Larry Trotter II, and Lakheem Trotter; and a grandfather of two, Jolie and Joi; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE HUNDREDTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we recognize the life and accomplishments of Bishop Larry Darnell Trotter, and thank him for his commitment to making the world a better place; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to Bishop Trotter as an expression of our esteem and respect.