Full Text of HR1457 96th General Assembly
HR1457 96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | 3 | | Representatives are saddened to learn of the death of Bishop | 4 | | Arthur M. Brazier of Chicago, who passed away on October 22, | 5 | | 2010; and
| 6 | | WHEREAS, Bishop Arthur M. Brazier was the Pastor Emeritus | 7 | | of the Apostolic Church of God, which is located in the | 8 | | Woodlawn community of Chicago; he was born in 1921 in Chicago | 9 | | to Robert and Geneva Brazier; he was raised on the south side | 10 | | of Chicago and attended Douglas Elementary School and Wendell | 11 | | Phillips High School; and
| 12 | | WHEREAS, Bishop Brazier was a World War II Army Veteran, | 13 | | serving overseas in India and Burma in 1943, and returning in | 14 | | December of 1945; in July 1947, he met his future wife, Esther | 15 | | Isabelle Holmes, and they were married February 21, 1948; in | 16 | | 1955, while still being employed with the U.S. Postal Service | 17 | | as a letter carrier, he enrolled in the Moody Bible Institute | 18 | | evening school to acquire formal systematic biblical training; | 19 | | he pursued these studies continuously for 6 years and received | 20 | | his graduating certificate in 1961; and | 21 | | WHEREAS, In 1960, Bishop Brazier was inducted as pastor of | 22 | | Apostolic Church of God; Bishop Brazier also served as diocesan |
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| 1 | | of the Sixth Episcopal District of the Pentecostal Assemblies | 2 | | of the World for 31 years;
Bishop Brazier began his community | 3 | | work with the Industrial Areas Foundation under the tutelage of | 4 | | Saul Alinsky and Nicholas Von Hoffman; during his work with | 5 | | Saul Alinsky, Bishop Brazier became the founding president of | 6 | | The Woodlawn Organization in 1961; in 1966, Bishop Brazier | 7 | | invited Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to the Apostolic Church of | 8 | | God for its annual Bible Conference; their like passion for | 9 | | civil rights led the 2 men to protest together against | 10 | | segregated housing and schools in Chicago; and
| 11 | | WHEREAS, In 1969, Bishop Brazier accepted a staff position | 12 | | with the Citizens Crusade Against Poverty, and in 1970, he | 13 | | resigned as President of The Woodlawn Organization; in addition | 14 | | to his pastoral work, Bishop Brazier joined the staff of the | 15 | | Center for Community Change, a Washington-based institution | 16 | | that gave technical assistance to community organizations in | 17 | | various parts of the country; after several years of service | 18 | | with the Center, he was elevated to the office of Vice | 19 | | President in charge of Major Projects, and remained in that | 20 | | position until 1986 when he resigned to spend more time with | 21 | | his church; and
| 22 | | WHEREAS, Bishop Brazier was the founding chairman of the | 23 | | Board of the Woodlawn Preservation and Investment Corporation | 24 | | (WPIC), a community-based group organized for the improvement |
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| 1 | | of the Woodlawn community, and was also the founding chairman | 2 | | of The Fund for Community Redevelopment and Revitalization; by | 3 | | the appointment of Mayor Richard Daley, Bishop Brazier sat on | 4 | | the Board of the Public Building Commission of Chicago for 20 | 5 | | years before resigning due to failing health; he also chaired | 6 | | the Executive Committee of the New Communities | 7 | | Program/Woodlawn, an affiliate of the Local Initiative Support | 8 | | Corporation (LISC), and the Woodlawn Children's Promise | 9 | | Community (WCPC);
Bishop Brazier retired from the pastorate of | 10 | | the Apostolic Church of God on June 1, 2008; and
| 11 | | WHEREAS, Bishop Brazier is survived by his wife, Esther | 12 | | Isabelle Brazier, his children, Lola Hillman, Dr. Byron T. | 13 | | Brazier (pastor of the Apostolic Church of God), Janice Dortch, | 14 | | and Rosalyn Shepherd; his 7 grandchildren, and his 11 | 15 | | great-grandchildren; therefore, be it
| 16 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 17 | | NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we | 18 | | mourn, along with his family, friends, and congregation, the | 19 | | passing of Bishop Arthur Brazier; and be it further
| 20 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 21 | | presented to the family of Bishop Arthur Brazier as a symbol of | 22 | | our sincere sympathy.
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