Full Text of HR0322 103rd General Assembly
HR0322 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | 3 | | Representatives wish to recognize Bethel A.M.E. Church of | 4 | | Champaign on the occasion of its 160th anniversary; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, Bethel A.M.E. Church established itself as a | 6 | | center for spiritual development and cultural, educational, | 7 | | and political activities for the African American community of | 8 | | Champaign County in its quest for racial and social uplift and | 9 | | self-determination, separate from the oppression of Jim Crow | 10 | | laws that congregants experienced in the larger society; and
| 11 | | WHEREAS, Bethel A.M.E. Church's early members were largely | 12 | | part of the "first wave" of African Americans who migrated | 13 | | mainly from the South between 1860 and 1880, during the period | 14 | | before the Civil War through the Reconstruction era; and
| 15 | | WHEREAS, Bethel A.M.E. Church was founded in 1863 by a | 16 | | small group of people who met for prayer in their homes; the | 17 | | church's first frame structure was built on a lot belonging to | 18 | | Mr. Jake Taylor at 405 E. Park Avenue for the cost of $600.00 | 19 | | in 1864; and
| 20 | | WHEREAS, Bethel A.M.E. Church moved and expanded in 1881, | 21 | | with the church's frame being moved to the lot originally |
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| 1 | | purchased in 1877, which is the church's present location at | 2 | | Park Avenue and Fourth Street; during this period, the first | 3 | | parsonage was also built in the back of the church; and
| 4 | | WHEREAS, Bethel A.M.E. Church's membership reached 62 by | 5 | | 1888; the church held a meeting to build a new structure and | 6 | | incorporate on October 5, 1892, and its corporate name became | 7 | | The African Methodist Episcopal Church of Champaign, Illinois; | 8 | | and
| 9 | | WHEREAS, Bethel A.M.E. Church's trustees were given | 10 | | authorization to mortgage Lot 53 upon which the new church was | 11 | | erected; under the leadership of Reverend Harry Lackey, church | 12 | | trustees secured payment on a loan of $2,000 to the Citizen's | 13 | | Building Association of Urbana on August 23, 1892; and
| 14 | | WHEREAS, Bethel A.M.E. Church's new structure was | 15 | | completed and dedicated in January 1893, with its new brick | 16 | | building including beautiful colored-glass windows, an | 17 | | auditorium, a lecture room, a basement with a kitchen and a | 18 | | dining room, and an upstairs room, often called the Baraca | 19 | | room, which was used for many purposes, such as a library, a | 20 | | recreation room, and a choir room; and
| 21 | | WHEREAS, Bethel A.M.E. Church established the National | 22 | | Baraca-Philathea Bible Study Group in 1910, becoming the only |
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| 1 | | congregation, Black or white, in the Champaign-Urbana area to | 2 | | do so, and the group continued from 1910 to 1940; and
| 3 | | WHEREAS, In 1925, Bethel A.M.E. Church member Mrs. Sarah | 4 | | Watson passed away, stating in her will that the proceeds of | 5 | | the sale of her property at 1010 West Main Street in Urbana | 6 | | were to be given to church trustees for the purpose of | 7 | | liquidating the church's mortgage indebtedness, thereby | 8 | | freeing the congregation of its mortgage; and
| 9 | | WHEREAS, Bethel A.M.E. Church hosted the Illinois Annual | 10 | | Conference of the A.M.E. Church in 1897, 1922, and 1936; the | 11 | | church and its Sunday school also hosted Sunday school | 12 | | conventions; during the early part of the century, when | 13 | | segregation was at its peak, the church maintained a park on | 14 | | Ells Street for neighborhood children; and
| 15 | | WHEREAS, Bethel A.M.E. Church's membership reached 270 by | 16 | | 1938, which occurred during the first Great Migration; women | 17 | | from the church's Helping Hand Club began fundraising for a | 18 | | new church building in 1948; and
| 19 | | WHEREAS, Under the direction of Reverend Taborn, Bethel | 20 | | A.M.E. Church established a building committee in 1957, and | 21 | | the committee was later expanded to study the cost of | 22 | | renovating the old church or building a new structure; and
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, With its rich musical tradition, Bethel A.M.E. | 2 | | Church has had a choir since 1893; the church's first choir | 3 | | robes were purchased for $4.00 each in 1917; its choir was well | 4 | | organized by 1922, with a complete set of officers and various | 5 | | committees who all worked together to make the Bethel A.M.E. | 6 | | Choir the finest in the community and the district; and
| 7 | | WHEREAS, Bethel A.M.E. Church's Young Adult Choir, | 8 | | consisting of 25 voices under the direction of Ms. Shirley | 9 | | Hursey, purchased an electric organ in 1971 from the proceeds | 10 | | the choir earned from selling its Gospel record My Faith; and
| 11 | | WHEREAS, Bethel A.M.E. Church formed a new group called | 12 | | the Bethel Biblical Arts Players to perform dramatic | 13 | | productions in 1983, which was sponsored by private donations; | 14 | | the church group's first performance depicted the first | 15 | | "freedom march" and was conducted at the Annual Founder's Day | 16 | | Church Banquet in February 1986, with subsequent performances | 17 | | being held at the church's Family Thanksgiving Dinner and the | 18 | | 1990 Kwanzaa Celebration; therefore, be it
| 19 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | 20 | | HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | 21 | | we recognize Bethel A.M.E. Church on its 160th anniversary as | 22 | | a spiritual, social, cultural, and educational hub for the |
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| 1 | | members of the African American community, sustaining itself | 2 | | through the Civil War, the Reconstruction era, World Wars I | 3 | | and II, the Great Migration, the Great Depression, and the | 4 | | civil rights movement; and be it further
| 5 | | RESOLVED, That we recognize Bethel A.M.E. Church's | 6 | | continued commitment towards its faith and legacy, and its | 7 | | dedication to good works; and be it further
| 8 | | RESOLVED, That we commend the leadership of Pastor | 9 | | Terrance Thomas as he guides Bethel A.M.E. Church into the | 10 | | next generation.
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