Full Text of HR0726 95th General Assembly
HR0726 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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| HOUSE RESOLUTION
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| WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | 3 |
| Representatives are pleased to congratulate the congregation | 4 |
| of Antioch Missionary Baptist Church on the occasion of the | 5 |
| church's 150th anniversary; and
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| WHEREAS, Antioch Missionary Baptist Church is one of the | 7 |
| oldest and largest African-American churches in Decatur/Macon | 8 |
| County; and
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| WHEREAS, The first congregation of the Antioch Missionary | 10 |
| Baptist Church was organized around 1854, with Maria Carr, | 11 |
| better known as "Grandma Carr", along with Mrs. Gilbert Vernon | 12 |
| and Mrs. Emily Stains having weekly prayer meetings in their | 13 |
| homes; the three women sought to build a church that would | 14 |
| edify the gospel and word of God; and
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| WHEREAS, Antioch Missionary Baptist Church's first | 16 |
| location was a small frame building located on Spring Street on | 17 |
| land donated by Captain David L. Allen, a wealthy citizen at | 18 |
| the time; a warranty deed for the land was titled over to the | 19 |
| first trustees of the church on June 21, 1858; the church's | 20 |
| first pastor was Reverend Tom Reasoner; the church housed the | 21 |
| first school for black citizens in Decatur from 1857 to 1905; | 22 |
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| WHEREAS, Antioch Missionary Baptist Church later moved to a | 2 |
| location at 600 Greenwood Avenue, followed by a move to 525 | 3 |
| North Church Street; and
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| WHEREAS, Several ministers have served Antioch Missionary | 5 |
| Baptist Church, including the late Rev. Dr. Oscar C. Turner, | 6 |
| Jr., a faithful servant who led the congregation from 1965 | 7 |
| until his death in 1995; he was the Administrative Dean of the | 8 |
| United Theological Seminary of Monroe, Louisiana and opened an | 9 |
| extension of this seminary in Decatur at Antioch; many local | 10 |
| ministers from Decatur and neighboring cities studied under Dr. | 11 |
| Turner and earned their Bachelor's and/or Master's of Theology | 12 |
| degree; lay people also obtained certification while attending | 13 |
| this school; a free food bank and clothing room was also | 14 |
| established under Dr. Turner in order to serve needy families | 15 |
| in the community, which continues to this date at a location on | 16 |
| Church Street in Decatur; Antioch Credit Union was established | 17 |
| in 1970; the church also hosts an annual free Community Health | 18 |
| Fair in the month of September and weekly worship broadcasts on | 19 |
| both radio and television stations; and | 20 |
| WHEREAS, In November of 1995, the Reverend Dr. C. D. | 21 |
| Stuart, from Arkansas, became the next Shepherd to lead Antioch | 22 |
| Missionary Baptist Church's congregation; under Dr. Stuart's | 23 |
| leadership, Antioch moved to its current location at 530 West |
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| Mound Road on February 7, 1999; for a time, services were held | 2 |
| at both locations, with Antioch being known as "One Church, Two | 3 |
| Locations", with the Church Street location known as Antioch | 4 |
| South and the Mound Road location known as Antioch North; and
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| WHEREAS, On August 18, 2003, Antioch Christian Academy, a | 6 |
| vision of Dr. Stuart's, became a reality, offering a program | 7 |
| for kindergarten through second grade; the academy currently | 8 |
| offers kindergarten through sixth grade classes; and | 9 |
| WHEREAS, A mortgage burning ceremony was held on Palm | 10 |
| Sunday, March 24, 2004 for Antioch Missionary Baptist Church's | 11 |
| Antioch North location; the final worship service at Antioch | 12 |
| South was held on January 2, 2005 and Antioch South's location | 13 |
| was sold in the fall of 2006; and
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| WHEREAS, Through a collaboration with a number of | 15 |
| not-for-profit organizations and the City of Decatur, a piece | 16 |
| of Antioch Missionary Baptist Church's property, known as "the | 17 |
| blue house" on Church Street, was renovated into a homeless | 18 |
| shelter and was dedicated during a special ceremony as the | 19 |
| Antioch Safe Haven on May 17, 2006; the shelter provides | 20 |
| permanent housing and support services for up to eight | 21 |
| chronically homeless individuals; and
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| WHEREAS, In celebration of the church's sesquicentennial |
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| year, the congregation of Antioch Missionary Baptist Church | 2 |
| will host a special banquet on Friday, October 12, 2007 at the | 3 |
| Decatur Club and a special anniversary service on Sunday, | 4 |
| October 28, 2007, along with many other events and special | 5 |
| services throughout 2007; therefore, be it
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| RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 7 |
| NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we | 8 |
| congratulate the congregation of Antioch Missionary Baptist | 9 |
| Church on the occasion of the church's 150th anniversary and | 10 |
| wish them continued success and happiness in the future; and be | 11 |
| it further
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| RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 13 |
| presented to Reverend Dr. C. D. Stuart as a symbol of our | 14 |
| esteem and respect.
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