Full Text of HR0985 94th General Assembly
HR0985 94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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HR0985 |
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LRB094 19780 HSS 56942 r |
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| HOUSE RESOLUTION
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| WHEREAS, Reverend William H. Copeland, Jr., will be honored | 3 |
| at a celebration of his 34 years of service to Morning Star | 4 |
| Missionary Baptist Church in Kankakee during the weekend of | 5 |
| Friday, March 10-12, 2006; and
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| WHEREAS, Reverend Copeland was born in Winn Parish, | 7 |
| Louisiana, to Georgia Ann and William H. Copeland, Sr.; he | 8 |
| completed high school in Louisiana and then earned a Bachelor | 9 |
| of Science degree from Missouri Western University in St. | 10 |
| Joseph, Missouri; he also attended National College in Kansas | 11 |
| City, Missouri, and the University of Missouri at Kansas City; | 12 |
| he received theological training from Western Baptist Bible | 13 |
| College, Kansas City National College, and William Jewel | 14 |
| College; he holds an Honorary Doctorate of Divinity degree from | 15 |
| Morris College and McKinley Theological Seminary; and
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| WHEREAS, He was called to pastor Morning Star Missionary | 17 |
| Baptist Church in 1971, and since then he has consistently | 18 |
| shown his concern for the souls and spiritual well-being of | 19 |
| mankind and for the social conditions that people face daily; | 20 |
| he has been a leader in the fight against racism and injustice | 21 |
| and has battled for the right of every child to have equal | 22 |
| access to a quality education; he has organized marches against | 23 |
| gangs and violence and helped to create the Martin Luther King | 24 |
| Jr. Foundation; and
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| WHEREAS, Under his leadership, the church erected a | 26 |
| half-million dollar edifice in 1976 with the mortgage being | 27 |
| fully satisfied in 1986; the church purchased and renovated | 28 |
| what now serves as the Morning Star Community Center; | 29 |
| additionally, the ministries of Morning Star have grown | 30 |
| tremendously, and the church is currently recognized as a | 31 |
| positive, influential social and political icon in the | 32 |
| Kankakeeland community; and
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HR0985 |
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LRB094 19780 HSS 56942 r |
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| WHEREAS, He is active in many civic and community | 2 |
| organizations and has served as president of the NAACP and the | 3 |
| Northeastside Ministerial Alliance; he has also served as | 4 |
| coordinator of the Kankakee County chapter of the Rainbow PUSH | 5 |
| Coalition and was one of six pastors to receive the Founder's | 6 |
| Award from PUSH, one of the organizations highest awards; and
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| WHEREAS, Reverend Copeland has been the recipient of | 8 |
| numerous awards, including the Ebony Esteem Award for "Man of | 9 |
| the Year" and "Most Outstanding Man in Religion" for Kankakee | 10 |
| County; he was named "Minister of the Year" by the Midwestern | 11 |
| Illinois Laymen's Fellowship and has received many other | 12 |
| recognitions, and on February 26, 2006, he received "The | 13 |
| African American Heritage Honoree Award" from the Victory | 14 |
| Christian International Ministries; and | 15 |
| WHEREAS, Reverend Copeland is married to the former Leola | 16 |
| Coley; they are the parents of Reverend Kenneth Edward Copeland | 17 |
| (Starla) and Monica Rochelle (Reverend John W. Fountain) and | 18 |
| the grandparents of William Jibri, Imani Monique, Abeni | 19 |
| Jamilah, Titus Omari, and Malik Jamal; therefore, be it
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| RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 21 |
| NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | 22 |
| we congratulate Reverend William H. Copeland, Jr., on the | 23 |
| occasion of the celebration of 34 years of service to Morning | 24 |
| Star Missionary Baptist Church in Kankakee; and be it further
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| RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 26 |
| presented to Reverend Copeland as an expression of our esteem.
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