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92_HR0520
LRB9210781RHrh
1 HOUSE RESOLUTION
2 WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3 Representatives are pleased to recognize milestone events in
4 the lives of the citizens of the State of Illinois; and
5 WHEREAS, On October 21, 2001 the First Presbyterian
6 Church in Centralia, which is celebrating its 145th year in
7 existence, honored Pastor Edwin E. Evans for his 30 years in
8 ministry; and
9 WHEREAS, Pastor Evans was born in Coatesville,
10 Pennsylvania, where his father was the pastor of a large
11 Presbyterian Church; he attended a Christian boarding school
12 in Florida during his high school years and he received his
13 bachelor's degree in 1968 from Calvin College in Grand
14 Rapids, Michigan; in 1971, he received his master's of
15 divinity from the Pittsburgh Theological Seminary and in 1984
16 he received his doctor of ministry from McCormick Theological
17 Seminary in Chicago; and
18 WHEREAS, At Calvin College, Pastor Evans met his future
19 wife, Betty; they were married in August of 1968 and are the
20 proud parents of two sons, Ed Jr. and Carl; and
21 WHEREAS, At the beginning of his career, Pastor Evans
22 served as pastor of the New Harrisburg Presbyterian Church in
23 Ohio; he then worked as an associate pastor for 3 and one
24 half years at a large church in Galesburg, Illinois; then in
25 1981, he became the pastor of First Presbyterian Church in
26 Centralia; and
27 WHEREAS, During his time at First Presbyterian Church,
28 Pastor Evans oversaw many new additions to the 80-year old
29 church, including structural renovations to the church
30 structure, the development of youth programs, including youth
31 mission trips, and the implementation of the "Stephen
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1 Ministry", a program that trains individuals who wish to
2 become "listeners" to those experiencing grief or hardship;
3 and
4 WHEREAS, Pastor Evans guided First Presbyterian Church as
5 it developed a relationship with a sister church in Malawi,
6 Africa; while visiting Malawi, Pastor Evans oversaw the
7 dedication of a newly constructed church and participated in
8 153 baptisms; in addition, he was selected by the Knights of
9 Templar of Illinois to take part in a tour of Israel and
10 recently journeyed to Greece to trek in the footsteps of St.
11 Paul; and
12 WHEREAS, Pastor Evans worked with the late Rev. Charles
13 Brown of the Second Baptist Church in Centralia on the
14 "Concerned Citizens" program, a program dealing with issues
15 of race, education, finances, and housing in the community
16 and working toward futhering communication between various
17 social, ethnic, and governmental groups in Centralia; in
18 addition, Pastor Evans serves as President of the Ministerial
19 Alliance where he helped organize a unity service that
20 included Hindi, Islamic, Jewish, and Christian faiths; he
21 also works with the Covenant Churches, a group of local
22 churches, in an effort to foster familiarity between
23 churches; and
24 WHEREAS, Pastor Evans has witnessed many changes in the
25 Centralia community throughout his ministry; he works with
26 people of all religions and races and has become a vital
27 component of the Centralia community; therefore, be it
28 RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
29 NINETY-SECOND GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
30 we congratulate Pastor Ed Evans as he celebrates the 30th
31 anniversary of his ordination; and be it further
32 RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
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1 presented to Pastor Ed Evans as an expression of our esteem.