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1 | HOUSE RESOLUTION
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2 | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | ||||||
3 | Representatives are pleased to congratulate the congregation | ||||||
4 | of the First Evangelical Lutheran Church of Decatur on the | ||||||
5 | occasion of the church's 125th anniversary; and
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6 | WHEREAS, The First Evangelical Lutheran Church of Decatur | ||||||
7 | was organized on October 24, 1882 in order to meet the | ||||||
8 | community's need for an English-speaking Lutheran | ||||||
9 | congregation; the church's charter was signed by Mr. and Mrs. | ||||||
10 | Frederic A. Korsmeyer, Martin L. Deck and his wife Eleanor | ||||||
11 | Casner Deck, Jacob A. Harry and his daughter Amelia K. Harry, | ||||||
12 | and Albert G. Webber; the Reverend R. E. McDaniel was also in | ||||||
13 | attendance as the pastor pro temp; shortly after the | ||||||
14 | organizational meeting, the second floor of a building at 503 | ||||||
15 | N. Main Street in Decatur was rented as a place of worship; and
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16 | WHEREAS, In the spring of 1883, a lot at 303 N. Main Street | ||||||
17 | in Decatur was purchased by the Deck family and donated to the | ||||||
18 | First Evangelical Lutheran Church as the site for a new church | ||||||
19 | building; the congregation's first pastor was the Reverend A. | ||||||
20 | W. Walter, who served from June 2, 1883 until April 15, 1885; | ||||||
21 | on June 11, 1883, a Sunday School was organized with Miss | ||||||
22 | Amelia Harry named as its superintendent; and
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1 | WHEREAS, Construction of the First Evangelical Lutheran | ||||||
2 | Church's first building was begun on May 17, 1886; the | ||||||
3 | building's cornerstone was laid on May 30, 1886 by the church's | ||||||
4 | second pastor, the Reverend John D. Roth; by the autumn of | ||||||
5 | 1886, the construction was completed to the point that both the | ||||||
6 | congregation and Sunday School held services in the church's | ||||||
7 | basement; the church's nave was completed on July 5, 1891; | ||||||
8 | after Reverend Roth's departure from the church on June 21, | ||||||
9 | 1888, he was replaced by Martin L. Wagner, who served from 1888 | ||||||
10 | until 1895, Frank C. Oberly, who served from 1895 until 1898; | ||||||
11 | Herman A. W. Yung, who served from 1898 until 1900; and by the | ||||||
12 | Reverend Hiram Peters, who served from 1900 until 1907; the | ||||||
13 | church's seventh pastor, the Reverend Roy G. Catlin, assumed | ||||||
14 | the pastorate while a student at the Chicago Theological | ||||||
15 | Seminary on May 15, 1908, and served the congregation until | ||||||
16 | 1931; and | ||||||
17 | WHEREAS, In 1929, the First Evangelical Lutheran Church's | ||||||
18 | building was to be sold to Sears Roebuck, Inc. as the sight of | ||||||
19 | a new department store downtown in downtown Decatur; the | ||||||
20 | congregation vacated the building and began meeting in the | ||||||
21 | Women's Club building on West Main Street in Decatur; after the | ||||||
22 | planned sale fell through, the congregation negotiated with | ||||||
23 | Sears Roebuck to pay for the restoration of the building; after | ||||||
24 | the restoration was complete, the congregation moved back to | ||||||
25 | the original building; and
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1 | WHEREAS, In 1941, the First Evangelical Lutheran Church | ||||||
2 | congregation decided to purchase the old Federal Post Office | ||||||
3 | building on North Main and Eldorado Street in Decatur; after | ||||||
4 | the old church was sold, the congregation worked for over | ||||||
5 | eighteen months remodeling the Post Office into a beautiful | ||||||
6 | church building; the work was finally completed in 1943 under | ||||||
7 | the pastorate of the Reverend Roland Reichmann; and
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8 | WHEREAS, On September 1, 1954, the Reverend Alfred H. Stone | ||||||
9 | began service as pastor of the First Evangelical Lutheran | ||||||
10 | Church; Reverend Stone served the church until 1960, when the | ||||||
11 | Reverend Paul E. Erickson was called to be Senior Pastor; and | ||||||
12 | WHEREAS, On February 3, 1964, the First Evangelical | ||||||
13 | Lutheran Church purchased a site at 250 West Decatur Street, | ||||||
14 | where the church remains to this day; on July 19, 1964, a | ||||||
15 | ground-breaking began for the construction of the church's | ||||||
16 | newest building; the building was dedicated on November 28, | ||||||
17 | 1965; and
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18 | WHEREAS, In 1972, Albert W. Weidlich was called to serve as | ||||||
19 | Senior Pastor of the First Evangelical Lutheran Church; Pastor | ||||||
20 | Weidlich served the church until 1980, when the Reverend Roger | ||||||
21 | L. Dahlin was called as Pastor; the Reverend Robert E. Van de | ||||||
22 | Ven joined him as Co-Pastor in 1981; and
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1 | WHEREAS, On April 20, 1986, ground was broken for the | ||||||
2 | renovation and construction of an addition to the First | ||||||
3 | Evangelical Lutheran Church's building; the construction was | ||||||
4 | dedicated on May 15, 1988; and | ||||||
5 | WHEREAS, In 1989 and 1990, the Reverend Steven D. Barnes | ||||||
6 | and the Reverend Charles R. Strietelmeier were called to serve | ||||||
7 | as Co-Pastors of the First Evangelical Lutheran Church; in | ||||||
8 | 1994, the Reverend Kathleen Burkheimer became the church's | ||||||
9 | first woman pastor, where she served until 1999; and
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10 | WHEREAS, In 1998, the Reverend Richard J. Wolf was called | ||||||
11 | as Senior Pastor; in 1999, Reverend Wolf's spouse, Rachel K. | ||||||
12 | Wolf, was called as an Associate in Ministry to be the church's | ||||||
13 | Visitation and Outreach Minster; on September 30, 2007, Mr. and | ||||||
14 | Mrs. Wolf left for Houston, Texas to pursue other interests; | ||||||
15 | and | ||||||
16 | WHEREAS, The First Evangelical Lutheran Church's rich | ||||||
17 | history and dedicated service to the City of Decatur are | ||||||
18 | treasures to be cherished by the people of the City of Decatur | ||||||
19 | and the State of Illinois; therefore, be it
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20 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | ||||||
21 | NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we |
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1 | congratulate the congregation of the First Evangelical | ||||||
2 | Lutheran Church of Decatur on the occasion of the church's | ||||||
3 | 125th anniversary and wish the members continued success and | ||||||
4 | happiness in the future; and be it further
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5 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | ||||||
6 | presented to a representative of the First Evangelical Lutheran | ||||||
7 | Church of Decatur as a symbol of our esteem and respect.
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