HR0322 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0322 LRB103 32329 ECR 61676 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of Representatives wish to recognize Bethel A.M.E. Church of Champaign on the occasion of its 160th anniversary; and

WHEREAS, Bethel A.M.E. Church established itself as a center for spiritual development and cultural, educational, and political activities for the African American community of Champaign County in its quest for racial and social uplift and self-determination, separate from the oppression of Jim Crow laws that congregants experienced in the larger society; and

WHEREAS, Bethel A.M.E. Church's early members were largely part of the "first wave" of African Americans who migrated mainly from the South between 1860 and 1880, during the period before the Civil War through the Reconstruction era; and

WHEREAS, Bethel A.M.E. Church was founded in 1863 by a small group of people who met for prayer in their homes; the church's first frame structure was built on a lot belonging to Mr. Jake Taylor at 405 E. Park Avenue for the cost of $600.00 in 1864; and

WHEREAS, Bethel A.M.E. Church moved and expanded in 1881, with the church's frame being moved to the lot originally purchased in 1877, which is the church's present location at Park Avenue and Fourth Street; during this period, the first parsonage was also built in the back of the church; and

WHEREAS, Bethel A.M.E. Church's membership reached 62 by 1888; the church held a meeting to build a new structure and incorporate on October 5, 1892, and its corporate name became The African Methodist Episcopal Church of Champaign, Illinois; and

WHEREAS, Bethel A.M.E. Church's trustees were given authorization to mortgage Lot 53 upon which the new church was erected; under the leadership of Reverend Harry Lackey, church trustees secured payment on a loan of $2,000 to the Citizen's Building Association of Urbana on August 23, 1892; and

WHEREAS, Bethel A.M.E. Church's new structure was completed and dedicated in January 1893, with its new brick building including beautiful colored-glass windows, an auditorium, a lecture room, a basement with a kitchen and a dining room, and an upstairs room, often called the Baraca room, which was used for many purposes, such as a library, a recreation room, and a choir room; and

WHEREAS, Bethel A.M.E. Church established the National Baraca-Philathea Bible Study Group in 1910, becoming the only congregation, Black or white, in the Champaign-Urbana area to do so, and the group continued from 1910 to 1940; and

WHEREAS, In 1925, Bethel A.M.E. Church member Mrs. Sarah Watson passed away, stating in her will that the proceeds of the sale of her property at 1010 West Main Street in Urbana were to be given to church trustees for the purpose of liquidating the church's mortgage indebtedness, thereby freeing the congregation of its mortgage; and

WHEREAS, Bethel A.M.E. Church hosted the Illinois Annual Conference of the A.M.E. Church in 1897, 1922, and 1936; the church and its Sunday school also hosted Sunday school conventions; during the early part of the century, when segregation was at its peak, the church maintained a park on Ells Street for neighborhood children; and

WHEREAS, Bethel A.M.E. Church's membership reached 270 by 1938, which occurred during the first Great Migration; women from the church's Helping Hand Club began fundraising for a new church building in 1948; and

WHEREAS, Under the direction of Reverend Taborn, Bethel A.M.E. Church established a building committee in 1957, and the committee was later expanded to study the cost of renovating the old church or building a new structure; and

WHEREAS, With its rich musical tradition, Bethel A.M.E. Church has had a choir since 1893; the church's first choir robes were purchased for $4.00 each in 1917; its choir was well organized by 1922, with a complete set of officers and various committees who all worked together to make the Bethel A.M.E. Choir the finest in the community and the district; and

WHEREAS, Bethel A.M.E. Church's Young Adult Choir, consisting of 25 voices under the direction of Ms. Shirley Hursey, purchased an electric organ in 1971 from the proceeds the choir earned from selling its Gospel record My Faith; and

WHEREAS, Bethel A.M.E. Church formed a new group called the Bethel Biblical Arts Players to perform dramatic productions in 1983, which was sponsored by private donations; the church group's first performance depicted the first "freedom march" and was conducted at the Annual Founder's Day Church Banquet in February 1986, with subsequent performances being held at the church's Family Thanksgiving Dinner and the 1990 Kwanzaa Celebration; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we recognize Bethel A.M.E. Church on its 160th anniversary as a spiritual, social, cultural, and educational hub for the members of the African American community, sustaining itself through the Civil War, the Reconstruction era, World Wars I and II, the Great Migration, the Great Depression, and the civil rights movement; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we recognize Bethel A.M.E. Church's continued commitment towards its faith and legacy, and its dedication to good works; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we commend the leadership of Pastor Terrance Thomas as he guides Bethel A.M.E. Church into the next generation.