Full Text of HR0029 098th General Assembly
HR0029 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, Representative Monique D. Davis and the members of | 3 | | the Illinois House of Representatives are pleased to recognize | 4 | | Reverend Dr. Johnnie Colemon, founder and minister of Christ | 5 | | Universal Temple, on her being selected as the First Annual | 6 | | Living Legends Award recipient by the Westside Center of Truth | 7 | | for Better Living; and
| 8 | | WHEREAS, Rev. Dr. Colemon has been a trailblazer of | 9 | | positive thought teachings and became a religious icon in this | 10 | | country and abroad over her more than 50 years of ministry; she | 11 | | grew her membership from 6 people sitting around a kitchen | 12 | | table in her home to approximately 15,000 members and built a | 13 | | 4,000-plus seating capacity mega church, a 20-classroom | 14 | | teaching facility, a state-of-the-art elementary school (The | 15 | | Johnnie Colemon Academy), and a 1,000-plus seat banquet | 16 | | facility (The Legacy); and
| 17 | | WHEREAS, Rev. Dr. Colemon enrolled in the Unity School of | 18 | | Practical Christianity, Lee's Summit, Missouri, where she | 19 | | received her teaching certificate and became an ordained | 20 | | minister; she has pioneered many "firsts" while at Unity, | 21 | | including being the first black person to live at Unity Village | 22 | | and the first to have been elected president of the Association | 23 | | of Unity Churches; and
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, Rev. Dr. Colemon organized the Universal | 2 | | Foundation For Better Living, Incorporated in 1974 in | 3 | | connection with the International New Thought Alliance (INTA); | 4 | | as a member of the INTA, she served as the district president | 5 | | and was chairperson of the 80th INTA Congress held in Chicago; | 6 | | her extensive travels have taken her to London, England, to be | 7 | | guest speaker at the festival of Mind and Body; and
| 8 | | WHEREAS, Rev. Dr. Colemon was an early pioneer of media | 9 | | ministry in the 1970s and appeared weekly with her telecast, | 10 | | Better Living With Johnnie Colemon, which aired in 9 markets; | 11 | | she has been the subject of featured articles and broadcasts, | 12 | | and major media publications, and has been a popular guest on | 13 | | radio and television; and
| 14 | | WHEREAS, Rev. Dr. Colemon has been the recipient of | 15 | | numerous honors and awards; she has received the Ministry Of | 16 | | The Century Award from the INTA and an honorary Doctor of | 17 | | Divinity Degree from her alma mater, Wiley College in Texas; | 18 | | she obtained her degree of Doctor of Humane Letters and a | 19 | | Doctor of Divinity from Monrovia College and Industrial | 20 | | Institute of African Methodist Episcopal Church in Monrovia, | 21 | | Liberia; she has received proclamations from the State of | 22 | | Illinois, City of Chicago, State of Michigan, Ohio House of | 23 | | Representatives, Michigan Legislature, City of Oakland, |
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| 1 | | California, City of Miami, Florida, and many others; her | 2 | | portrait hangs at Morehouse College in the Martin Luther King | 3 | | Jr. International Center; she served as director of the Chicago | 4 | | Port Authority and as commissioner of the Chicago Transit | 5 | | Authority Oversight Committee; she has been recognized as | 6 | | Chicago's Living Legends by the Institute for African American | 7 | | Youth Development and honored by the DuSable Museum as an | 8 | | African American History Maker; and | 9 | | WHEREAS, The Johnnie Colemon Academy opened on September 7, | 10 | | 1999, and is the most recent addition to the 32-acre campus; in | 11 | | February 2001, the elementary school became one of the Chicago | 12 | | public schools and serves as a model learning center; in 2006, | 13 | | Rev. Dr. Colemon retired as Senior Minister of Christ Universal | 14 | | Temple, but continues to be a driving force for the ministry | 15 | | she founded and led for over 50 years; and | 16 | | WHEREAS, Rev. Dr. Colemon will be honored at the First | 17 | | Annual Living Legends Awards Banquet on February 23, 2013, at | 18 | | The Legacy in Chicago, Illinois; therefore, be it
| 19 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 20 | | NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | 21 | | we recognize Reverend Dr. Johnnie Colemon on her being selected | 22 | | as the First Annual Living Legends Award recipient by the | 23 | | Westside Center of Truth for Better Living; and be it further
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| 1 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 2 | | presented to Rev. Dr. Johnnie Colemon as an expression of our | 3 | | esteem and respect.
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