Full Text of HR0513 96th General Assembly
HR0513 96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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| HOUSE RESOLUTION
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| WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | 3 |
| Representatives are pleased to congratulate the congregation | 4 |
| of the Main Baptist Church in Aurora on the occasion of the | 5 |
| church's 142nd anniversary in June of 2009; and
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| WHEREAS, The Main Baptist Church had its beginnings in the | 7 |
| Park Place Baptist Church, which was instrumental in the | 8 |
| transportation of slaves to Aurora by way of the Underground | 9 |
| Railroad during the Civil War; after the emancipation of the | 10 |
| slaves, many African-Americans migrated to the North, with some | 11 |
| choosing to settle in Aurora; many of these ex-slaves chose to | 12 |
| worship at the Park Place Baptist Church, which manifested its | 13 |
| concern by welcoming them as part of its congregation; as the | 14 |
| new members grew in numbers and met in their homes for prayer | 15 |
| meetings, they felt the need for their own place of worship; | 16 |
| through the help of Reverend Buttons, the Pastor of Park Place, | 17 |
| and Reverend Barnett, the leader of the African-American | 18 |
| membership, the Colored Baptist Church of Aurora came into | 19 |
| being in June of 1867; and
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| WHEREAS, Around the 1890's, a frame church was erected on | 21 |
| the Main Baptist Church's current site, utilizing property | 22 |
| given as a gift to the church from a prominent Aurora citizen; | 23 |
| at the time, services were held in the basement and the name of |
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| the church became the Third Baptist Church; and
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| WHEREAS, During the Main Baptist Church's first 48 years, | 3 |
| many pastors were called to serve the congregation; the church | 4 |
| also started numerous organizations, including a choir, a | 5 |
| quartet, Sunday School, Missionary Society, and Baptist Young | 6 |
| People's Union; in addition, an envelope system of paying | 7 |
| church dues and the tithing method of supporting the church | 8 |
| were introduced; and
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| WHEREAS, On November 24, 1924, the Third Baptist Church was | 10 |
| torn down and worship services were held in the Grand Army of | 11 |
| the Republic Memorial Hall, the Aurora City Hall, and the Labor | 12 |
| Temple, among other places; on August 23, 1925, the Reverend G. | 13 |
| W. Alexander preached the sermon for the "Laying of the | 14 |
| Cornerstone" and the church was renamed the Main Street Baptist | 15 |
| Church; and | 16 |
| WHEREAS, In November of 1949, Reverend Joseph L. Griffin of | 17 |
| Chicago accepted the call to serve as Pastor of the Main Street | 18 |
| Baptist Church; the church added many new organizations at that | 19 |
| time, including the Junior Missionary Society, the Volunteer | 20 |
| Service Guild, and the Willing Workers Club; in addition, | 21 |
| observance programs of the Pastor's Anniversary, Women's Day, | 22 |
| and Men's Day were started, along with the purchase of the | 23 |
| parsonage at 21 N. East Avenue in Aurora and the establishment |
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| of a Scholarship Fund; the church's membership increased | 2 |
| greatly through gospel preaching, revivals, and faithful | 3 |
| witnessing; and
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| WHEREAS, In April of 1955, after a short period without a | 5 |
| pastor, the Reverend Robert Wesby became the Pastor of the Main | 6 |
| Street Baptist Church, with the Reverend Churchill Cowherd | 7 |
| serving as Assistant to the Pastor; during his pastorate, the | 8 |
| Children's Church, the Pathfinders, Silent Helpers, and the | 9 |
| Credit Union were organized; during this time, the church also | 10 |
| started the Sunday evening broadcast over WMRO and purchased | 11 |
| property at 818 E. Galena Blvd. in Aurora; in November of 1963, | 12 |
| Rev. Wesby resigned as pastor and Rev. Churchill Cowherd served | 13 |
| as the church's Interim Pastor; and
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| WHEREAS, On May 14, 1964, the congregation of the Main | 15 |
| Street Baptist Church enthusiastically welcomed Reverend | 16 |
| Robert Edward Morgan as their Spiritual Commander; during his | 17 |
| tenure, he added many new Deacons and Trustees, including the | 18 |
| church's first women trustees, Sisters Estella Smith, Martha | 19 |
| Dade, Tommie Wells, Eunice Tresenwriter, and Donna Williams; he | 20 |
| was also instrumental in the organization of the Pastor's Aid, | 21 |
| the Men's Club, the Church Council, the Christian Education | 22 |
| Board, the Deaconess, the Mothers' Board, the Nurses' Aid | 23 |
| Guild, and a Youth Fellowship; due to the changing of the names | 24 |
| of many of the streets in Aurora, it became necessary for a |
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| church name change; by popular vote, the church became the Main | 2 |
| Baptist Church in 1964; and
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| WHEREAS, During the third year of Rev. Morgan's pastorate, | 4 |
| the Main Baptist Church launched its comprehensive building and | 5 |
| expansion program to meet its educational and sanctuary needs; | 6 |
| in the fall of 1972, Rev. Morgan resigned his pastorate and | 7 |
| Rev. Churchill Cowherd once again served as Interim Pastor; on | 8 |
| August 12, 1973, the Reverend Dezo McGill became pastor of the | 9 |
| church; Rev. McGill's first endeavor was to advance the Sunday | 10 |
| School hour and add Baptist Training Union workshops before the | 11 |
| Sunday morning worship hour; a nursery during morning worship | 12 |
| was instituted as well, with Sister Dorothy Walton directing; | 13 |
| in September of 1974, a church library was established and | 14 |
| dedicated honoring the labor of Rev. Robert E. Morgan and the | 15 |
| Hostess committee was organized to greet members and visitors | 16 |
| each Sunday; in December of 1980, an additional Worship Service | 17 |
| at 7:30 A.M. was instituted in to eliminate overcrowding at the | 18 |
| church's 11:00 A.M. Worship Service; and | 19 |
| WHEREAS, On June 8, 1980, the Main Baptist Church's | 20 |
| mortgage was burned in the presence of Reverend Dezo McGill, | 21 |
| Reverend Robert E. Morgan, Reverend Wallace S. Hartsfield, | 22 |
| Aurora city officials, and the congregation-at-large; and
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| WHEREAS, Under the inspired leadership of Reverend Dezo |
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| McGill, the Main Baptist Church added many ministries and | 2 |
| organizations to its church program, including the Golden Agers | 3 |
| Ministry, Family Night, the Tape Ministry, Mission II, the | 4 |
| Women's Bible Study and Prayer Group, The Adventures of the | 5 |
| 3R's Summer Learning Program, the Evangelistic Committee, the | 6 |
| Men's Ministry, the Singles Ministry, the Marriage Ministry, | 7 |
| Toastmasters, the New Members Class, and a part-time Children's | 8 |
| Church Pastor and assistants; in the fall of 1993, property was | 9 |
| purchased and renovated at 808 E. Galena Blvd. for the church's | 10 |
| education annex; and
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| WHEREAS, In October of 2006, Reverend McGill announced his | 12 |
| retirement after 32 years; the church's Deacons' Ministry, | 13 |
| chaired by Deacon Hase Phillips, established a Pulpit | 14 |
| Committee, which faced an awesome task of searching, screening, | 15 |
| and presenting candidates seeking to serve as Pastor; on June | 16 |
| 2, 2007, Dr. Julian E. Spencer of Tracy, California accepted | 17 |
| the call to lead the Main Baptist Church; and
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| WHEREAS, Today, the congregation of the Main Baptist Church | 19 |
| continues its mission of being an effective, spiritual pillar | 20 |
| in its community, striving for the advancement of the Kingdom | 21 |
| of God by proclaiming the Word of God, leading lost souls to | 22 |
| Christ, and ministering to the needs of the saved and unsaved | 23 |
| in the church congregation, local community, across the nation, | 24 |
| and throughout the world; therefore, be it
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| RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 2 |
| NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we | 3 |
| congratulate the congregation of the Main Baptist Church in | 4 |
| Aurora on the occasion of the church's 142nd anniversary and | 5 |
| wish them continued success and happiness in the future; and be | 6 |
| it further
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| RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 8 |
| presented to Dr. Julian E. Spencer, Pastor of the Main Baptist | 9 |
| Church, as a symbol of our esteem and respect.
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