Full Text of HR0858 101st General Assembly
HR0858 101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | 3 | | Representatives would like to congratulate the congregation of | 4 | | the St. Paul Evangelical Lutheran Church in Orion on the | 5 | | occasion of its 175th anniversary celebration on April 26th, | 6 | | 2020; and
| 7 | | WHEREAS, Ascension Day in 1870 was marked by the | 8 | | organization of the Orion Swedish Evangelical Lutheran Church | 9 | | by a group of laymen with 30 charter members, mostly from the | 10 | | Swedona Church, on May 26th; and
| 11 | | WHEREAS, A year later, they were accepted into membership | 12 | | in the Augusta Synod and completed their church's first | 13 | | building; and
| 14 | | WHEREAS, Eleven years later, their first pipe organ was | 15 | | installed at a cost of $800, which served the church for 40 | 16 | | years; and | 17 | | WHEREAS, In 1922, 52 years after its creation, the church's | 18 | | membership had grown to 600, and the name of the congregation | 19 | | was changed to what it is still known as today, St. Paul | 20 | | Evangelical Lutheran Church, in order to be inviting to | 21 | | non-Swedish residents; and |
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, In 1979, an internship program was created, which | 2 | | lasted 22 years and had 18 participants; it was also the same | 3 | | year that the Orion senior citizens meal site was started by | 4 | | the St. Paul social ministry; and | 5 | | WHEREAS, In 1989, the first parish nurse of the | 6 | | congregation was installed; and | 7 | | WHEREAS, At the 125th anniversary in 1996, a revised | 8 | | mission statement was adopted which included a major component | 9 | | entitled Rooted, Nourished, Sent; and | 10 | | WHEREAS, On June 18th, 1998, the steeple that topped the | 11 | | church since 1902 fell during a tornado-like storm; it was | 12 | | originally built of structured steel, measuring 103 feet from | 13 | | ground to top of the six foot cast-iron cross; and | 14 | | WHEREAS, In 1999, St. Paul Church entered the digital age | 15 | | by launching their first webpage; and | 16 | | WHEREAS, A year later, their hand bell choir joined others | 17 | | from across the United States and a variety of foreign nations | 18 | | to perform Make Me an Instrument of Thy Peace during The | 19 | | Columbine Benefit Project, raising funds which promoted | 20 | | programs to prevent school violence; and |
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, The same year, a new steeple, replacing the former | 2 | | one that was destroyed two years prior, was dedicated; and | 3 | | WHEREAS, The following year brought about many exciting | 4 | | changes, such as the authorization of church expansion and | 5 | | renovation, the hiring of the first Director of Youth and | 6 | | Family Ministry, and the creation of Fun and Fit, which was an | 7 | | outreach program for the children of the Orion community | 8 | | designed to improve children's nutrition, health status, and | 9 | | spiritual growth; and | 10 | | WHEREAS, In 2003, two years after the expansion was | 11 | | authorized, there was a dedication of a new building, The Ark, | 12 | | on March 30th; and | 13 | | WHEREAS, Retirement of The Ark mortgage concluded just | 14 | | before Ascension Day in 2014, and the church began their | 15 | | Backpack Blessings program, which operated through the food | 16 | | pantry; and
| 17 | | WHEREAS, When a blizzard hit the area in 2018, St. Paul | 18 | | Church continued its long tradition of caring for the community | 19 | | when the church was utilized as a warming center for 37 people; | 20 | | and
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, Celebrating its 150th anniversary entitled | 2 | | Growing in God's Grace, St. Paul Church still holds its roots | 3 | | in a strong Swedish component but is home to a very large | 4 | | number of members from other nationalities; therefore, be it
| 5 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | 6 | | HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | 7 | | we congratulate the congregation of the St. Paul Evangelical | 8 | | Lutheran Church on the occasion of its 175th anniversary | 9 | | celebration, we commend the continued good work of the church | 10 | | within and beyond the community of Orion, and we wish them many | 11 | | more years of faith and fellowship; and be it further
| 12 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 13 | | presented to the congregation of St. Paul Church as an | 14 | | expression of our esteem and respect.
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