Full Text of HR1241 098th General Assembly
HR1241 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | 3 | | Representatives are pleased to
recognize significant | 4 | | contributions made by the people and communities of the State; | 5 | | and | 6 | | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | 7 | | Representatives wish to congratulate the Greater
New Hope | 8 | | Missionary Baptist Church of East St. Louis on the occasion of | 9 | | its 100th anniversary celebration on October 11, 2014; and | 10 | | WHEREAS, In 1913, Rev. J.L. McBride, a local minister of | 11 | | the Mount Olive Baptist
Church, was asked by that congregation | 12 | | and pastor, Rev. Borders, to begin a mission in
the east end | 13 | | section of the city, a section of town predominantly settled | 14 | | with people of Polish descent; Rev. McBride organized a few | 15 | | Christians who were living in this
section, with Mount Olive | 16 | | Baptist Church serving as the mother
church; and | 17 | | WHEREAS, These few faithful and loyal members worked | 18 | | untiringly, adding new
members to the mission roll during its | 19 | | first year; in 1914, a council was called consisting of pastors | 20 | | and churches; a new church was organized and given the name New | 21 | | Hope; and |
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, In 1914, New Hope was born; the original church | 2 | | (later known as the Little Hall) was bought by Bro. Marion E. | 3 | | Officer; a new church building was erected in 1916; and | 4 | | WHEREAS, In 1920, the congregation grew to the point that | 5 | | the building had to be
enlarged because of the increase in | 6 | | membership; the remodeling program cost $5,000, and New Hope | 7 | | continued to grow in size, spiritual influence, and physical | 8 | | plant; out of
this period of church history came ministers W.P. | 9 | | Alexander and Calvin Fearn, nationally
known church missionary | 10 | | Annette Officer, and Rev. J.L. McBride, who served as
Moderator | 11 | | of New Salem District Association and Vice-President of the | 12 | | Baptist General
State Convention of Illinois; and | 13 | | WHEREAS, Around 1935, a group of young women, spearheaded | 14 | | by Annette Harris
Officer, started a building program; she | 15 | | secured the services of the Works
Progress Administration, and | 16 | | a partial basement
was added; and | 17 | | WHEREAS, In 1944, the health of Rev. McBride, the first | 18 | | pastor of New Hope, begin to
fail; he was retired by the church | 19 | | but continued to attend church and preach when able
until his | 20 | | death in 1945; and | 21 | | WHEREAS, In 1944, Rev. William Peter Alexander was called | 22 | | to become the second
pastor of New Hope; the Sunday School and |
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| 1 | | Baptist Training Union were revamped by
Rev. Alexander, and a | 2 | | Christian Education Program was initiated; one of its early
| 3 | | programs was a foundation to aid in academic education of young | 4 | | people who were
members of the church; a tutoring and study | 5 | | hall program was put into operation, and
special days to honor | 6 | | high school and college graduates were instituted; State grants | 7 | | were also secured to sponsor summer camps for underprivileged | 8 | | children in the church and
community; this activity was | 9 | | spearheaded by Fannie Jones and Bernice Howell
for many years; | 10 | | the church progress was natural for Rev. Alexander who was also | 11 | | President
of Congress of Christian Education for the Baptist | 12 | | State Convention of Illinois, a post he
held for more than 30 | 13 | | years; and | 14 | | WHEREAS, In 1946, the congregation continued to grow under | 15 | | Rev. Alexander's
leadership; the front entrance of the church | 16 | | was changed, a complete basement was built,
and it became | 17 | | necessary to enlarge the church again; a new wing was erected | 18 | | and the
building was able to seat more than 600 people; and | 19 | | WHEREAS, On September 14, 1962, one of the founding | 20 | | members, Sis. Jesse B. Petty,
suffered a stroke as she sat in | 21 | | her home behind the church and watched a newly renovated
New | 22 | | Hope burn for 3 hours as trains prolonged the arrival of | 23 | | additional fire-fighting
equipment; the "Friendly Church on | 24 | | The Highway" was destroyed after 48 years
of existence; the |
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| 1 | | pastor and more than 500 members were determined to rebuild
and | 2 | | set about the business of rebuilding; and | 3 | | WHEREAS, The present edifice was entered in 1964, | 4 | | incomplete and with a 30-year
mortgage; Bro. Marion E. Officer | 5 | | purchased the organ, the stained glass, and other
prominences | 6 | | for the church; the church name changed on the occasion of the | 7 | | rebuilding
and the present name of Greater New Hope Missionary | 8 | | Baptist was adopted to signify its structural
improvement and | 9 | | the magnitude of its members' faith; and | 10 | | WHEREAS, Rev. Alexander continued as the second pastor of | 11 | | Greater New Hope
until becoming infirmed in early 1977 and | 12 | | expiring suddenly on May 31, 1977; he was
dubbed the "Dean of | 13 | | Ministers" in East St. Louis; he was a living legend in | 14 | | religious circles
and left a legacy of Christian performance to | 15 | | the membership; at the time of his death, he
had served as | 16 | | Moderator of the New Salem District for many years, as | 17 | | President of the
New Salem Congress for a long tenure, and as | 18 | | President of the Baptist General State
Congress of Christian | 19 | | Education until death; he did not live to see the mortgage | 20 | | burned,
but his leadership paved the way for the mortgage | 21 | | payments on the edifice to be
completed in 17 years; and | 22 | | WHEREAS, On October 30, 1977, the membership gathered to | 23 | | observe the burning of
the 1964 mortgage, paid in full on March |
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| 1 | | 31, 1977 under the pastorate of the beloved late
shepherd; his | 2 | | dream and task for Greater New Hope was complete; and | 3 | | WHEREAS, In 1978, a search for a new minister began; Rev. | 4 | | Richard Temple
was placed in charge of the pulpit and remained | 5 | | there from June 1978 until December
1978; and
| 6 | | WHEREAS, On October 18, 1978, Rev. David Crockett was | 7 | | elected pastor of Greater New Hope Missionary Baptist Church; | 8 | | he accepted this position on November 18, 1978 and began duties | 9 | | as
pastor on December 4, 1978; and
| 10 | | WHEREAS, On February 25, 1979, Rev. David Crockett was | 11 | | installed as the fourth
pastor of Greater New Hope Missionary | 12 | | Baptist Church and presently holds this position; under his
| 13 | | leadership in 1982, the Awards and Recognition Committees were | 14 | | organized, and, in 1983,
26 members received Golden Leaves for | 15 | | longevity of 70 years and older; 23 members
called Foundation | 16 | | Stone with 50 years of continuous membership were honored; and | 17 | | members having from 25 to 50 years of continuous
membership | 18 | | were recognized; the oldest female was Sis. Mattie Thigpen who | 19 | | was 96 years old, joining
in 1916 and staying a continuous | 20 | | member for 71 years; the oldest male was Bro. Eli Porter
| 21 | | Turnage who joined New Hope in 1922 and had been a continuous | 22 | | member for 65 years; and
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, Presently, Rev. Crockett has served as pastor of | 2 | | Greater New Hope
Missionary Baptist for over 35 years and has | 3 | | instituted the idea of total
membership involvement, | 4 | | re-emphasizing the need for a christian educated
congregation, | 5 | | and has focused on a total ministry to include children, youth, | 6 | | young adults,
older adults, and seniors; the church is blessed | 7 | | with a bus and van for those without
transportation to church; | 8 | | a tape ministry to record worship for the sick and shut-in is
| 9 | | also available; and
| 10 | | WHEREAS, Rev. Crockett envisions the Greater New Hope | 11 | | Missionary Baptist Church as a focal
point of evangelism in the | 12 | | community; and
| 13 | | WHEREAS, Greater New Hope Missionary Baptist Church has | 14 | | been a beacon of light in the community for l00 years and | 15 | | should be commended for its untiring, dedicated work and | 16 | | services; therefore, be it
| 17 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 18 | | NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | 19 | | we congratulate Greater
New Hope Missionary Baptist Church of | 20 | | East St. Louis on the occasion of its 100th anniversary | 21 | | celebration on October 11, 2014; and be it further
| 22 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be |
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| 1 | | presented to Greater New Hope Baptist Church as an expression | 2 | | of our esteem and respect.
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