Full Text of HR1173 93rd General Assembly
HR1173 93RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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HR1173 |
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LRB093 23296 HSS 53272 r |
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| HOUSE RESOLUTION
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| WHEREAS, The members of the House of Representatives of the | 3 |
| State of Illinois are pleased to congratulate the Mt. Zion | 4 |
| Missionary Baptist Church of Waukegan and Pastor Arthur J. Gass | 5 |
| Sr. on the occasion of their 17th anniversary; and
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| WHEREAS, Pastor Arthur J. Gass Sr. was born on October 18, | 7 |
| 1951 in Sylvester, Georgia to Mr. Ulysses & Mrs. Tannie L. Gass | 8 |
| Sr.; he has been married to Anne V. Gass for 26 years, and they | 9 |
| have 2 children, CaRita Anne Gass and Arthur James Gass Jr.; | 10 |
| and
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| WHEREAS, Pastor Gass became a member of the Hopewell | 12 |
| Baptist Church as a young child; his church ministry | 13 |
| experiences include serving as Junior Usher, Church Clerk, | 14 |
| Youth Director, a Junior Deacon, a Deacon, the Chairman of the | 15 |
| Board of Deacons, an Associate Minister, Assistant to the | 16 |
| Pastor, and Pastor; he accepted his calling into ministry on | 17 |
| November 23, 1978, was licensed on December 10, 1978, and was | 18 |
| ordained on May 4, 1981; and
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| WHEREAS, He served as Pastor of the New St. Stephen Baptist | 20 |
| Church in Albany, Georgia and as Associate Minister of the | 21 |
| Christian Valley Baptist Church; as a religious leader, he | 22 |
| organized the Christian Ministers Fellowship Organization and | 23 |
| served as president of the organization in 1986; and
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| WHEREAS, Pastor Gass has served as Pastor of Mt. Zion | 25 |
| Missionary Baptist Church of Waukegan since June of 1987; under | 26 |
| his leadership, the church has grown to over 300 members, and | 27 |
| the new church was built and dedicated in March of 1993; under | 28 |
| his guidance, the church has purchased real estate consisting | 29 |
| of two residential houses, and has added annually to the | 30 |
| church's income, and converted vacant land to accommodate | 31 |
| approximately 28 additional parking spaces for the church; and
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| WHEREAS, Pastor Gass is more than a pastor; he also serves | 2 |
| as a teacher, community leader, and scholar; he is a past | 3 |
| president of the North Shore Baptist Ministers Alliance, | 4 |
| secretary of the North Shore Pastor's Conference, the first | 5 |
| Vice-Moderator of the New Era District Association, and the | 6 |
| former Financial Secretary/Budget Director and 3rd Vice | 7 |
| President of Finance for the Young Pastors & Ministers | 8 |
| Department of the National Baptist Convention, U.S.A., Inc.; he | 9 |
| is an accountant for The People's Voice Newspaper, a member of | 10 |
| the NAACP, a member of the Board of Directors of Daisy's | 11 |
| Resource Center, a former member of the Board of Directors of | 12 |
| Lake County Community Action Project (CAP), and a former member | 13 |
| of the Board of Directors of Neighborhood Housing Service; and
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| WHEREAS, During his tenure as president of the North Shore | 15 |
| Baptist Ministers Alliance, he was instrumental in the renaming | 16 |
| of Utica Street to Dr. Martin Luther King Drive, effective in | 17 |
| January of 2002; he organized the Financial Planning | 18 |
| Conference, Christian Family Conference, and the Singles and | 19 |
| Teen Conferences at Mt. Zion that are aimed at strengthening | 20 |
| the family financially and teaching family values from a | 21 |
| Biblical perspective; he is credited with helping three church | 22 |
| families in purchasing new residential homes and four sister | 23 |
| churches in purchasing new edifices; and
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| WHEREAS, In 1986, Pastor Gass was presented with the | 25 |
| Leadership Award from the Christian Ministers Fellowship | 26 |
| Organization; in 1998, he was presented with the Publisher's | 27 |
| Award - Most Influential African-Americans of Lake County; from | 28 |
| 1975 to 2001, he received several Outstanding Service Awards, | 29 |
| both from his employer and the community; and in 2004, the City | 30 |
| of Waukegan dedicated and named Wainlow Avenue in his honor in | 31 |
| recognition of his religious and community activities; | 32 |
| therefore, be it
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HR1173 |
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LRB093 23296 HSS 53272 r |
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| RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 2 |
| NINETY-THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we | 3 |
| congratulate the Mt. Zion Missionary Baptist Church of Waukegan | 4 |
| and Pastor Arthur J. Gass Sr. on the occasion of their 17th | 5 |
| anniversary; and be it further
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| RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be | 7 |
| presented to the Mt. Zion Missionary Baptist Church of Waukegan | 8 |
| and to Pastor Arthur J. Gass Sr. as an expression of our | 9 |
| esteem.
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