Full Text of HR1064 98th General Assembly
HR1064 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | 3 | | Representatives wish to honor the life of Pastor Wallace Wyatt | 4 | | Sykes of Second Baptist Church; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, Pastor Sykes was born in Starksville, Mississippi | 6 | | on December 21, 1923 to the Reverend P.K. and Parkay Marie | 7 | | Sykes; and
| 8 | | WHEREAS, Pastor Sykes moved to Maywood in 1943 and began | 9 | | serving at Second Baptist Church as deacon, trustee, | 10 | | superintendent of the Sunday church school, director of the | 11 | | Baptist Training Union, director of the Shepherd Boys, and | 12 | | financial secretary of the church for 12 years; he also sang | 13 | | with the Gospel Chorus and The Sanctuary Choir; in 1957, while | 14 | | serving at Second Baptist Church and studying at the Chicago | 15 | | Baptist Institute, he entered the ministry and was ordained in | 16 | | 1961; and
| 17 | | WHEREAS, Pastor Sykes is a graduate of Crane Junior College | 18 | | in Chicago, Chicago Teachers College, the Chicago
Baptist | 19 | | Institute, Elmhurst College, and holds an Honorary Doctor of | 20 | | Divinity Degree
conferred upon him by the Board of Trustees of | 21 | | the Easonian Baptist Theological Seminary in Birmingham,
| 22 | | Alabama in 1965; he has done postgraduate studies at |
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| 1 | | Northeastern Illinois University and at the Northern Baptist | 2 | | Theological Seminary in Lombard; and
| 3 | | WHEREAS, Second Baptist Church has accomplished a great | 4 | | deal under the direction and leadership of Pastor Sykes | 5 | | including: the establishment of The Hayden Memorial | 6 | | Educational Fund to give scholarships
and assistance to boys | 7 | | and girls seeking to develop their potential go on to higher | 8 | | education, and Pam's
Pennies, a fund-raising venture, created | 9 | | to serve as a companion to the Hayden Memorial
Educational | 10 | | Fund; since both of these programs have been initiated, several | 11 | | hundred students have gone to
college and been encouraged in | 12 | | both grade school and high school; in addition, The Maple Tree | 13 | | Child Learning Center was established for daycare and the | 14 | | development of children, and The
Maple Tree Music Center was | 15 | | established to aid in the development of children and people | 16 | | interested
in music; in January of 1997, he formed the Girl and | 17 | | Boy Scout Troops for neighboring children, and in May of 1999, | 18 | | the Maple Tree Child Learning Center upgraded its services by | 19 | | adding a Kindergarten class and after
school and senior | 20 | | programs; he also
established a computer literacy program and | 21 | | lab for students within the after school program and purchased | 22 | | a
new van for members needing assistance who are in | 23 | | wheelchairs; in February of 2004, an additional
program was | 24 | | instituted, The Children's Worship Hour; additional programs | 25 | | developed by the him
include the establishment of The Talent |
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| 1 | | and Tutoring Center, the School of Religion
for biblical | 2 | | instruction and guidance, and The Second Community Crisis | 3 | | Center for individuals who have
been displaced from housing; he | 4 | | also established the Food Ministry and Produce Mobile Ministry | 5 | | to feed
the hungry; and
| 6 | | WHEREAS, Since 1961, property was purchased and a parking | 7 | | lot developed; in 1975, a new edifice with a sanctuary to | 8 | | accommodate the seating of 1200, 35 classrooms for
teaching, a | 9 | | social hall, and music lab to accommodate 10 students and a | 10 | | teacher was erected with parking; under Pastor Sykes's | 11 | | leadership, the congregation also redeemed the property of
Mrs. | 12 | | Maggie Walker, then 101 years old, in 1971; now 3 parking lots | 13 | | are available and used; in 2001, the church purchased | 14 | | additional property and named it The Assembly Children's | 15 | | Ministry of Second
Baptist; in 2002, members encouraged the
| 16 | | pastor to install an elevator for the senior members and the | 17 | | handicapped; and | 18 | | WHEREAS, Pastor Sykes's additional pastoral duties | 19 | | include: visiting the sick and shut-in, providing food for | 20 | | those in
need, funeral and burial services, marriage | 21 | | counseling, weddings, supervising of church activities, church
| 22 | | administration, providing shelter and clothing for the needy, | 23 | | providing bus service for those needing transportation, and | 24 | | aiding students in school; and |
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, Pastor Sykes's family includes - his children, | 2 | | Patricia Jean, Dr. Bobby Wyatt (professor, University of
New | 3 | | Mexico), George Anthony, Sherry Alysine (graduate, West | 4 | | Point), Robert Daniel (graduate, Georgetown University), and | 5 | | Brett Steward (graduate, Massachusetts Institute of | 6 | | Technology); grandchildren, Winston, Dina, Hasan,
Deidre, | 7 | | Rhiannon Marie, Geovantie, Gavin, Ariel, and Jonathan Nigel; 3 | 8 | | great-grandchildren, Hillery,
Morgan, and Brandi Nichole; 3 | 9 | | daughters-in-laws, Judy, Amy, and Diane and one son-in-law,
| 10 | | Terrace; from his mother, the late Mrs. Parkay Marie Sykes, he | 11 | | received unending support and faithful
guidance until the very | 12 | | end of her life; and | 13 | | WHEREAS, Pastor Sykes is still moving forward as a pillar | 14 | | in the community, with ideas and plans for the future; this
| 15 | | year marks the 52th year of him being the Pastor of The Second | 16 | | Baptist Church; on March 30, 2007, the 7th
Congressional | 17 | | District of Illinois, under the leadership of Congressman Danny | 18 | | K. Davis, named the
Maywood Post Office in his honor; and | 19 | | WHEREAS, A celebration was held in honor of Pastor Sykes on | 20 | | April 25, 2014 at Second Baptist Church in recognition of his | 21 | | life and service; therefore, be it
| 22 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE |
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| 1 | | NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | 2 | | we honor the life of Pastor Wallace Wyatt Sykes, and wish him | 3 | | the best in all his future endeavors; and be it further
| 4 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 5 | | presented to Pastor Sykes as an expression of esteem and | 6 | | respect.
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