HR1236 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR1236 LRB098 22132 GRL 61006 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of Representatives wish to congratulate Rev. Lishers Mahone, Jr. on the occasion of his retirement as Pastor of Brown Chapel A.M.E. Church in Joliet; and

WHEREAS, Lishers Mahone, Jr. is the third of 8 children born to Lishers and Lizzie Mae Mahone of Patsburg, Alabama; he received his early education in Alabama; when he was 18 years old, he went to Illinois to visit his sister, never realizing what God had in store for him; he subsequently served in the United States Armed Forces, where he received his formal training in Business Administration; and

WHEREAS, Lishers Mahone, Jr. entered the Itinerant Ministry of the African Methodist Episcopal Church and received his theological training through the Moody Bible Institute of Chicago and the African Methodist Episcopal Church; he was ordained an Itinerant Elder by the late Bishop Howard Thomas Primm in September of 1972; and

WHEREAS, Lishers Mahone, Jr. began his Pastorate at Turner Memorial A.M.E. Church in Chicago, located in the living room of one of its members; during his tenure there, he led the congregation in purchasing property with the intentions of building a new church; in 1981, he was appointed as Pastor of the beleaguered Brown Chapel A.M.E. Church; shortly after his arrival, Brown Chapel was well on its way to fiscal prosperity and spiritual growth; in 1991, Brown Chapel broke ground for its new edifice at 1502 East Mills Road in Joliet; and

WHEREAS, Lishers Mahone, Jr. has the distinction of serving the longest pastoral term in the North District of the Chicago A.M.E. Annual Conference; and

WHEREAS, Since 2003, Lishers Mahone, Jr. has served as President of Churches United in the Fight Against Aids, a local organization working exclusively to empower churches in the greater Joliet area in the struggle against the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the African-American community; he served as the Chairman of the Will County Community Health Organization Governing Council Board; he has also served on the Quality Control Committee for the Will County Community Health Center and is a member of the Joliet Regional Interfaith Education Council; and

WHEREAS, Lishers Mahone, Jr. and his wife, First Lady Betty Mahone, are the proud parents of 3 adult children, Kenneth (Christina), Lishune, and Lishers, III (Chanda), and the grandparents of 4 wonderful grandchildren, Eleanor Grace, Marshall James, Blake Alexander, and Karrington Alexis; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we congratulate Rev. Lishers Mahone, Jr. on the occasion of his retirement and wish him continued success and happiness in the future; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to Lishers Mahone, Jr. as a symbol of our esteem and respect.