Full Text of HR1181 97th General Assembly
HR1181 97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
| | HR1181 | | LRB097 22169 MST 70900 r |
|
| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | 3 | | Representatives wish to congratulate the Pilgrim Baptist | 4 | | Church on the occasion of the 95th anniversary of its founding; | 5 | | and
| 6 | | WHEREAS, The history of Pilgrim Baptist Church began in May | 7 | | of 1917; there was no black Baptist church in Rockford, so | 8 | | Meissieurs Grant Madison, Louis Branch, Walter Brooks, and a | 9 | | gentleman named Banks organized a Sunday school and prayer | 10 | | meeting; the Reverend J.C. China was elected as the | 11 | | Superintendent of the Sunday school; the church was organized | 12 | | on August 6, 1917, at the home of Brother Grant Madison at 812 | 13 | | West Street and was subsequently named Pilgrim Rest Baptist | 14 | | Church; and
| 15 | | WHEREAS, Twenty-two charter members took place at that | 16 | | first meeting, including Reverend J.C. China and Reverend | 17 | | Holden, Brothers Grant Madison, T.P. McGee, Thomas Cochran, | 18 | | Louis Branch, Robert Goza, E.P. Jones, Albert Earney, Ford | 19 | | Smith, and James Davis, Brother Banks and Brother Cook, Sisters | 20 | | M.A. Madison, Sarah Branch, Lillian Goza, Martha Rook, Mary | 21 | | Dulin, Delia Cochran, Rachel Jackson Flood and A. Smith, and | 22 | | Sister Johnson; and
|
| | | HR1181 | - 2 - | LRB097 22169 MST 70900 r |
|
| 1 | | WHEREAS, The church called its first pastor, Reverend Mr. | 2 | | T.P. McGee in October 1917; under his leadership the property | 3 | | at 846 Montague Street was purchased; the entire congregation | 4 | | marched to their new location on the third Sunday in June 1918; | 5 | | in February of 1919, under the tutelage of Reverend G.W. | 6 | | Dudley, a new location was acquired on 812 West Street and | 7 | | occupied in July of that year and was considered the first | 8 | | "real" church building by its congregants; and
| 9 | | WHEREAS, In 1944, the Pilgrim Builders Club was formed to | 10 | | pay off the mortgage and plans were laid for remodeling the | 11 | | church; the word "Rest" was removed from the church name in | 12 | | 1947, and a year later work began on beautifying the church; in | 13 | | 1951, volunteers helped obtain pledges from members for the | 14 | | Building Fund drive; by 1954, serious consideration was being | 15 | | given to enlarging the building to give Pilgrim members a | 16 | | church home they could be proud of; and
| 17 | | WHEREAS, 1958 was a memorable year for the Pilgrim members; | 18 | | the Building Fund continued to grow, and in the fall the church | 19 | | came into possession of 3.7 acres of land on which to erect the | 20 | | new building; on the second Sunday in September, a dedication | 21 | | of service of thanksgiving for the new property was held at the | 22 | | site; and | 23 | | WHEREAS, December of 1959 saw the church presented with |
| | | HR1181 | - 3 - | LRB097 22169 MST 70900 r |
|
| 1 | | completed drawings for the new building; it was announced on | 2 | | March 30, 1960, that ground breaking would begin in April; the | 3 | | church moved into the new building on the 12th of March 1961; | 4 | | additions to the physical edifice have been many, including a | 5 | | mosaic completed in 1972; the mortgage for the new church was | 6 | | burned in April 1973; and | 7 | | WHEREAS, The physical manifestations of this structure of | 8 | | hope will be for Pilgrim Baptist Church to have a nursing home | 9 | | for the elderly, a children's home for homeless youth, a center | 10 | | for preschoolers, a credit union, and a center for religious | 11 | | education; all of these will serve to realize Pilgrim's | 12 | | greatest dream, that the community and the church be one, a | 13 | | communion; therefore, be it
| 14 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 15 | | NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | 16 | | we congratulate Pilgrim Baptist Church on their founding, their | 17 | | history, and wish them well with their future endeavors; and be | 18 | | it further
| 19 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 20 | | presented to the members of the Pilgrim Baptist Church on the | 21 | | occasion of the celebration of their 95th anniversary.
|
|