Full Text of HR1259 100th General Assembly
HR1259 100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | 3 | | Representatives wish to
congratulate the First Baptist Church | 4 | | of Orion on the occasion of its 175th anniversary and its | 5 | | tradition of faithful ministry to the local community; and
| 6 | | WHEREAS, The church, originally known as the
Mount Pleasant | 7 | | Baptist Church, was founded in 1843 in the home
of Nathan W. | 8 | | Washburn as a result of the missionary work of the
Reverend | 9 | | Thomas Powell; and
| 10 | | WHEREAS, The church faced many difficulties in its early
| 11 | | years and nearly disbanded in the late 1850s when most of the
| 12 | | original members moved away; and
| 13 | | WHEREAS, The remaining members committed that "as long as
| 14 | | two were present", there would always be meetings; and | 15 | | WHEREAS, This faithfulness sustained the church; in 1866, | 16 | | its
members built the first official church building
in Orion, | 17 | | debt free; and | 18 | | WHEREAS, Equipped with a new building, the congregation
| 19 | | began to expand, creating a Union Sunday School and purchasing | 20 | | a
parsonage for $1,100 in 1881; and |
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, In 1892, in order to serve members of the
| 2 | | congregation who lived many miles from Orion, the church | 3 | | established
a new branch in Warner, which lasted until 1921; | 4 | | and | 5 | | WHEREAS, The church continued to grow and thrive, and in | 6 | | the
summer of 1897, a new and expanded building was built and
| 7 | | rededicated in October of that year; and | 8 | | WHEREAS, During the First World War, the congregation sent
| 9 | | weekly letters to the young men and boys of the church who
| 10 | | served in the conflict; and | 11 | | WHEREAS, In 1918, under the supervision of the Shining
| 12 | | Lights Society, a new pipe organ was installed in the church, | 13 | | an
instrument that has provided 100 years of music and worship | 14 | | for
the congregation; and | 15 | | WHEREAS, In 1920, the church adopted a new constitution,
| 16 | | formally changing its name from the Mount Pleasant Baptist
| 17 | | Church to the First Baptist Church of Orion; and | 18 | | WHEREAS, During the Second World War, 26 young men and two
| 19 | | young women of the church served in the armed forces; and |
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, In 1943, renovations and upgrades were | 2 | | continually
made to the church; the congregation celebrated its | 3 | | l00th
anniversary by staging a pageant, performed by | 4 | | descendants of
the first settlers, that depicted the original | 5 | | members of the
church and recounted the founding of the church; | 6 | | and
| 7 | | WHEREAS, In 1962, the church was cited as the Town and | 8 | | Country
Church of the Year at the Illinois Baptist State
| 9 | | Convention; and
| 10 | | WHEREAS, Throughout the rest of the 20th Century and into
| 11 | | the 21st Century, the First Baptist Church of Orion, a member | 12 | | of the Southern Baptist Convention, has continued
to be a | 13 | | pillar of the community; therefore, be it
| 14 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | 15 | | HUNDREDTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we | 16 | | congratulate the First Baptist Church of Orion on its 175th
| 17 | | anniversary, and we wish it 175 more years of continued
| 18 | | faithfulness and dedication to the surrounding community; and | 19 | | be it further
| 20 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 21 | | presented to the Reverend Jerry Higdon and the congregation of | 22 | | the First
Baptist Church of Orion.
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