Full Text of HR0760 103rd General Assembly
HR0760 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY | | | HR0760 | | LRB103 40571 ECR 73155 r |
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| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION | 2 | | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | 3 | | Representatives wish to congratulate St. Joseph Church in | 4 | | Island Grove on the occasion of its 150th anniversary; and | 5 | | WHEREAS, In 1864, the first Catholic family arrived in | 6 | | Island Grove, and they were joined by 12 more Catholic | 7 | | families by the start of the new decade; during this time, the | 8 | | nearest Catholic church was in Teutopolis, a journey which | 9 | | became a hardship for Island Grove parishioners during cold | 10 | | and wet months; and | 11 | | WHEREAS, The local Catholic families expressed interest in | 12 | | building a church in the Island Grove area; in the fall of | 13 | | 1870, Landelin Koebele, the head of one of the Catholic | 14 | | families, donated four acres of land to be used for church | 15 | | property; and | 16 | | WHEREAS, Father Mauritius Klosterman deemed the land | 17 | | appropriate and suitable for the church site, and construction | 18 | | of St. Joseph Church was started in the spring of 1872; under | 19 | | the guidance of experienced carpenter and fellow parishioner | 20 | | Brother Camillus, the exterior of the church was completed in | 21 | | the fall of 1873; and |
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, In the spring of 1874, St. Joseph Church was | 2 | | furnished by Dr. Eversman, who donated an altar and 16 benches | 3 | | to accommodate 80 people; the building was fully furnished and | 4 | | ready for services on March 25, 1874, giving parishioners the | 5 | | opportunity to celebrate the Feast of Annunciation and the | 6 | | first Mass in the new church; and | 7 | | WHEREAS, St. Joseph Church grew to accommodate a parochial | 8 | | school, attended by 14 children, in 1880; the church continued | 9 | | to grow and, with the help of parishioners who volunteered | 10 | | their time and building skills, more additions were completed | 11 | | in 1884, further expanding the church's communal nature; and | 12 | | WHEREAS, On December 29, 1917, St. Joseph Church was | 13 | | destroyed in a fire; Father Joseph Meyer, the church's pastor | 14 | | at that time, was able to save the Blessed Sacrament from the | 15 | | Tabernacle mere moments before a ball of fire fell from the | 16 | | ceiling to the foot of the altar; outside, the church | 17 | | community gathered, helplessly watching their beloved house of | 18 | | worship burn; that night, a few men from the church made the | 19 | | rough trip to Teutopolis to retrieve an altar stone so | 20 | | services could resume as soon as possible the following | 21 | | Sunday; and | 22 | | WHEREAS, St. Joseph Church was rebuilt and rededicated in | 23 | | December 1918, again with the help of parishioners who donated |
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| 1 | | time and money to restore the building; and | 2 | | WHEREAS, St. Joseph Church remains a staple of Island | 3 | | Grove and serves as a testament to the fortitude, dedication, | 4 | | and perseverance of the previous generations of parishioners | 5 | | and the legacy of their faith moving forward; therefore, be it | 6 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | 7 | | HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | 8 | | we congratulate St. Joseph Church in Island Grove on its | 9 | | sesquicentennial anniversary; and be it further | 10 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 11 | | presented to representatives of St. Joseph Church as an | 12 | | expression of our esteem and respect. |
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