Full Text of HR0603 96th General Assembly
HR0603 96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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| HOUSE RESOLUTION
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| WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | 3 |
| Representatives are pleased to congratulate the congregation | 4 |
| of the Salem Evangelical Lutheran Church in Blue Island on the | 5 |
| occasion of the church's 100th anniversary; and
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| WHEREAS, The rich history of the Salem Evangelical Lutheran | 7 |
| Church began in 1862, when Rev. Stubnatzy of St. John's | 8 |
| Lutheran Church in Coopers Grove took charge of the various | 9 |
| private Lutheran services that took place throughout the Blue | 10 |
| Island area; a year later the group formed the German | 11 |
| Evangelical Lutheran Society, which hosted a congregation of 66 | 12 |
| under the pastorate of Rev. Augustus Reinke, who was also | 13 |
| responsible for the creation of a school and parsonage; Rev. | 14 |
| Reinke was succeeded by Rev. H. Ernst, who served the group | 15 |
| from 1871 until 1879, when Rev. H. Duborg became the Salem | 16 |
| congregation's new pastor; and
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| WHEREAS, Following the Predestination and Election | 18 |
| Controversy in the Synodical Conference in 1881, the Salem | 19 |
| congregation, as well as the congregation's pastor, broke away | 20 |
| from the Synodical conference; the church became affiliated | 21 |
| with the denomination now known as the Lutheran Church Missouri | 22 |
| Synod in July of 1909 and became self-supporting on April 28, | 23 |
| 1924; and
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| WHEREAS, In September of 1909, the Salem congregation held | 2 |
| its first recorded meeting, with Rev. F. Sievers presiding; | 3 |
| during the meeting, the congregation adopted a constitution, | 4 |
| which was signed by Andrew Reines, William Siemsen, Louis | 5 |
| Storz, Sr., John Wolz, Carl "Charlie" Schwartz, Oscar Jacob, | 6 |
| Carl Hupe, and Gustave Thedens; on December 12, 1909, Rev. | 7 |
| Raymond Reinke of Harvard was installed as the Salem | 8 |
| congregation's first pastor; during the church's first year, | 9 |
| the congregation gathered for worship at the Congregational | 10 |
| Church on York Street in Blue Island; and
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| WHEREAS, On March 7, 1910, the Salem Evangelical Lutheran | 12 |
| Church purchased a lot at the corner of Maple and High Streets | 13 |
| in Blue Island for the construction of a new church; the | 14 |
| building's cornerstone was laid on November 15, 1910 and | 15 |
| completed that year; the Salem congregation dedicated the | 16 |
| church on December 11, 1910 and began holding services | 17 |
| immediately; throughout the 1910's, various improvements were | 18 |
| made to the church, including the creation of a Sunday School, | 19 |
| the purchase of a church bell, the placement of an altar for | 20 |
| the church, and the expansion of the church's basement; and
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| WHEREAS, The 1920s were a wonderful time of growth and | 22 |
| celebration for the Salem Evangelical Lutheran Church; the | 23 |
| church purchased an organ for the church on July 9, 1922; the |
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| church celebration its 15th anniversary on the second Sunday in | 2 |
| December of 1924; in 1927, the church built its Parsonage at | 3 |
| 12906 Maple Avenue, where it remained until it was sold in | 4 |
| 2001; and
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| WHEREAS, In 1934, the Salem Evangelical Lutheran Church | 6 |
| celebrated the church's 25th anniversary; that same year, the | 7 |
| congregation founded the Salem Men's Club; and
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| WHEREAS, In 1949, the Salem Evangelical Lutheran Church | 9 |
| celebrated the church's 40th anniversary with addition of light | 10 |
| fixtures; that same year, the church purchased the lot south of | 11 |
| the church, known as the Montag property; the house that was | 12 |
| sitting on the property was remodeled into the school's Primary | 13 |
| Building and was dedicated on December 27, 1949; on August 29, | 14 |
| 1954, the church built a new school building, which includes | 15 |
| the school's basement, kitchen, classrooms, and office; the | 16 |
| congregation celebrated the church's continued success with a | 17 |
| 50-year anniversary celebration in 1959 and a 60-year | 18 |
| anniversary celebration in 1969; and | 19 |
| WHEREAS, In 1973, the front of the Salem Evangelical | 20 |
| Lutheran Church's present school was constructed; the school | 21 |
| now provided a classroom, library, restrooms, storage space, an | 22 |
| office complex, a meeting room, and a kindergarten room for the | 23 |
| school's many students, teachers, and staff; the facility was |
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| dedicated on January 21, 1973; and
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| WHEREAS, On December 14, 1980, the Salem congregation | 3 |
| re-dedicated the interior of the church and celebrated the 70th | 4 |
| anniversary of the church's first dedication; the congregation | 5 |
| also extensively remodeled the interior of the church, | 6 |
| completing their work in October of 1981; on March 1, 1987, the | 7 |
| congregation of the Salem Evangelical Lutheran Church | 8 |
| celebrated the final payment on the church by burning the | 9 |
| church's mortgage; in 1987, the church continued its renovation | 10 |
| of the church grounds, demolishing and repaving the site where | 11 |
| the Schultz house stood and erecting a fence around the | 12 |
| church's playground; the following year, the church completed | 13 |
| the construction of the church's new doors; and
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| WHEREAS, In 1991, the Salem congregation replaced its | 15 |
| original pipe organ with a new electronic organ and removed the | 16 |
| organ pipes from the building; in 1993, the lower level of the | 17 |
| church was remodeled; and
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| WHEREAS, The coming of the new millennium brought many new | 19 |
| developments to the Salem Evangelical Lutheran Church; on March | 20 |
| 11, 2001, the church's library was dedicated in the memory of | 21 |
| Alan Poegel, a former principal and teacher at Salem; on | 22 |
| September 26, 2004, the church celebrated its 95th anniversary | 23 |
| with a special service featuring guest preacher Rev. William |
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| Ameiss and with the dedication of 2 new candelabras and a new | 2 |
| blue parament; the church's new Communion vessels were | 3 |
| dedicated on May 21, 2006; and | 4 |
| WHEREAS, Throughout the last 100 years, the Salem | 5 |
| Evangelical Lutheran Church has served as a pillar of strength, | 6 |
| piety, and compassion for the people of Blue Island, a position | 7 |
| that it will undoubtedly serve in for many generations to come; | 8 |
| therefore, be it
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| RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 10 |
| NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we | 11 |
| congratulate the congregation of the Salem Evangelical | 12 |
| Lutheran Church on the occasion of the church's 100th | 13 |
| anniversary and wish them continued success and happiness in | 14 |
| the future; and be it further
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| RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 16 |
| presented to Pastor Chris A.E. Bottorff of the Salem | 17 |
| Evangelical Lutheran Church as a symbol of our esteem and | 18 |
| respect.
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