Full Text of HR0797 95th General Assembly
HR0797 95TH 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 First Evangelical Lutheran Church of Decatur on the | 5 |
| occasion of the church's 125th anniversary; and
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| WHEREAS, The First Evangelical Lutheran Church of Decatur | 7 |
| was organized on October 24, 1882 in order to meet the | 8 |
| community's need for an English-speaking Lutheran | 9 |
| congregation; the church's charter was signed by Mr. and Mrs. | 10 |
| Frederic A. Korsmeyer, Martin L. Deck and his wife Eleanor | 11 |
| Casner Deck, Jacob A. Harry and his daughter Amelia K. Harry, | 12 |
| and Albert G. Webber; the Reverend R. E. McDaniel was also in | 13 |
| attendance as the pastor pro temp; shortly after the | 14 |
| organizational meeting, the second floor of a building at 503 | 15 |
| N. Main Street in Decatur was rented as a place of worship; and
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| WHEREAS, In the spring of 1883, a lot at 303 N. Main Street | 17 |
| in Decatur was purchased by the Deck family and donated to the | 18 |
| First Evangelical Lutheran Church as the site for a new church | 19 |
| building; the congregation's first pastor was the Reverend A. | 20 |
| W. Walter, who served from June 2, 1883 until April 15, 1885; | 21 |
| on June 11, 1883, a Sunday School was organized with Miss | 22 |
| Amelia Harry named as its superintendent; and
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| WHEREAS, Construction of the First Evangelical Lutheran | 2 |
| Church's first building was begun on May 17, 1886; the | 3 |
| building's cornerstone was laid on May 30, 1886 by the church's | 4 |
| second pastor, the Reverend John D. Roth; by the autumn of | 5 |
| 1886, the construction was completed to the point that both the | 6 |
| congregation and Sunday School held services in the church's | 7 |
| basement; the church's nave was completed on July 5, 1891; | 8 |
| after Reverend Roth's departure from the church on June 21, | 9 |
| 1888, he was replaced by Martin L. Wagner, who served from 1888 | 10 |
| until 1895, Frank C. Oberly, who served from 1895 until 1898; | 11 |
| Herman A. W. Yung, who served from 1898 until 1900; and by the | 12 |
| Reverend Hiram Peters, who served from 1900 until 1907; the | 13 |
| church's seventh pastor, the Reverend Roy G. Catlin, assumed | 14 |
| the pastorate while a student at the Chicago Theological | 15 |
| Seminary on May 15, 1908, and served the congregation until | 16 |
| 1931; and | 17 |
| WHEREAS, In 1929, the First Evangelical Lutheran Church's | 18 |
| building was to be sold to Sears Roebuck, Inc. as the sight of | 19 |
| a new department store downtown in downtown Decatur; the | 20 |
| congregation vacated the building and began meeting in the | 21 |
| Women's Club building on West Main Street in Decatur; after the | 22 |
| planned sale fell through, the congregation negotiated with | 23 |
| Sears Roebuck to pay for the restoration of the building; after | 24 |
| the restoration was complete, the congregation moved back to | 25 |
| the original building; and
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| WHEREAS, In 1941, the First Evangelical Lutheran Church | 2 |
| congregation decided to purchase the old Federal Post Office | 3 |
| building on North Main and Eldorado Street in Decatur; after | 4 |
| the old church was sold, the congregation worked for over | 5 |
| eighteen months remodeling the Post Office into a beautiful | 6 |
| church building; the work was finally completed in 1943 under | 7 |
| the pastorate of the Reverend Roland Reichmann; and
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| WHEREAS, On September 1, 1954, the Reverend Alfred H. Stone | 9 |
| began service as pastor of the First Evangelical Lutheran | 10 |
| Church; Reverend Stone served the church until 1960, when the | 11 |
| Reverend Paul E. Erickson was called to be Senior Pastor; and | 12 |
| WHEREAS, On February 3, 1964, the First Evangelical | 13 |
| Lutheran Church purchased a site at 250 West Decatur Street, | 14 |
| where the church remains to this day; on July 19, 1964, a | 15 |
| ground-breaking began for the construction of the church's | 16 |
| newest building; the building was dedicated on November 28, | 17 |
| 1965; and
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| WHEREAS, In 1972, Albert W. Weidlich was called to serve as | 19 |
| Senior Pastor of the First Evangelical Lutheran Church; Pastor | 20 |
| Weidlich served the church until 1980, when the Reverend Roger | 21 |
| L. Dahlin was called as Pastor; the Reverend Robert E. Van de | 22 |
| Ven joined him as Co-Pastor in 1981; and
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| WHEREAS, On April 20, 1986, ground was broken for the | 2 |
| renovation and construction of an addition to the First | 3 |
| Evangelical Lutheran Church's building; the construction was | 4 |
| dedicated on May 15, 1988; and | 5 |
| WHEREAS, In 1989 and 1990, the Reverend Steven D. Barnes | 6 |
| and the Reverend Charles R. Strietelmeier were called to serve | 7 |
| as Co-Pastors of the First Evangelical Lutheran Church; in | 8 |
| 1994, the Reverend Kathleen Burkheimer became the church's | 9 |
| first woman pastor, where she served until 1999; and
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| WHEREAS, In 1998, the Reverend Richard J. Wolf was called | 11 |
| as Senior Pastor; in 1999, Reverend Wolf's spouse, Rachel K. | 12 |
| Wolf, was called as an Associate in Ministry to be the church's | 13 |
| Visitation and Outreach Minster; on September 30, 2007, Mr. and | 14 |
| Mrs. Wolf left for Houston, Texas to pursue other interests; | 15 |
| and | 16 |
| WHEREAS, The First Evangelical Lutheran Church's rich | 17 |
| history and dedicated service to the City of Decatur are | 18 |
| treasures to be cherished by the people of the City of Decatur | 19 |
| and the State of Illinois; therefore, be it
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| RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 21 |
| NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we |
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| congratulate the congregation of the First Evangelical | 2 |
| Lutheran Church of Decatur on the occasion of the church's | 3 |
| 125th anniversary and wish the members continued success and | 4 |
| happiness in the future; and be it further
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| RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 6 |
| presented to a representative of the First Evangelical Lutheran | 7 |
| Church of Decatur as a symbol of our esteem and respect.
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