Full Text of HR0994 97th General Assembly
HR0994 97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | 3 | | Representatives are pleased to congratulate the members and | 4 | | staff of Covenant United Church of Christ on their 16th | 5 | | anniversary; and
| 6 | | WHEREAS, Formally established in 1996, the vision behind | 7 | | Covenant United Church of Christ (UCC) was first conceived of | 8 | | in 1995 when the former Thornridge UCC closed its doors in the | 9 | | same location; having dwindled to 8 members, the church held | 10 | | its final service Easter Sunday morning; and
| 11 | | WHEREAS, The Illinois Conference of the United Church of | 12 | | Christ set out to fill the void with a new church; Reverend | 13 | | Ozzie E. Smith, Jr. had a vision that the new church would be a | 14 | | church always in the mode of "becoming a new thing" (Isaiah | 15 | | 43:19); it would not be a church weighed down by anchors of | 16 | | tradition; it would be a people-friendly, biblically literate, | 17 | | Christ-centered, spirit-filled church that lived out in its | 18 | | ministry, the tangible fruits of its mission statement: "to be | 19 | | a people of Afro-sensitive faith empowered by Christ, embracing | 20 | | its culture in shared ministry"; and
| 21 | | WHEREAS, Based upon this vision, Reverend Dr. Ozzie E. | 22 | | Smith, Jr. was called to organize, develop, and pastor Covenant |
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| 1 | | United Church of Christ; on Easter Sunday, April 7, 1996, one | 2 | | year from the time Thornridge UCC had closed its doors, | 3 | | Covenant United Church of Christ opened its doors; and
| 4 | | WHEREAS, That first Sunday 24 members joined; during that | 5 | | year the choir was organized, the first Associate Pastor was | 6 | | added to the staff, a 3 night Vacation Bible School was held, 2 | 7 | | $500 college scholarships were awarded, 125 Thanksgiving | 8 | | baskets were given away, and 40 families were adopted for | 9 | | Christmas; and | 10 | | WHEREAS, In April of 1997, the church celebrated its first | 11 | | anniversary and the official Installation Service for its | 12 | | Pastor, Reverend Dr. Ozzie E. Smith, Jr.; that same year, the | 13 | | church experienced phenomenal growth, a second service was | 14 | | added, the parking lot was expanded, 7 deacons were ordained, | 15 | | and the first confirmation class was confirmed; and | 16 | | WHEREAS, After 5 years of prayer, praise, and faithful | 17 | | giving, ground was broken for the new sanctuary in 2001; on | 18 | | Easter Sunday, March 31, 2002, with a membership of over 1,200, | 19 | | the congregation moved into the new sanctuary; and
| 20 | | WHEREAS, Now with over 2,500 members and almost 40 | 21 | | ministries, Covenant is the fastest growing congregation in the | 22 | | United Church of Christ and one of the fastest growing in the |
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| 1 | | Chicagoland area; the mortgage was burned on December 31, 2007; | 2 | | a Family Life Center is being planned; and adjacent property | 3 | | was acquired, known as CUCC North; therefore, be it
| 4 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 5 | | NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | 6 | | we congratulate the members and staff of Covenant United Church | 7 | | of Christ on this occasion and wish them the best for years to | 8 | | come; and be it further
| 9 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 10 | | presented to Reverend Dr. Ozzie E. Smith, Jr., on behalf of the | 11 | | members of Covenant United Church of Christ, as a symbol of our | 12 | | respect and esteem.
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