SR0244 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SR0244 LRB095 12470 GRL 37616 r

SENATE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to learn of the death of Reverend Robert E. Webber of Sawyer, Michigan, who passed away on April 27, 2007; and

WHEREAS, Reverend Webber was born in 1933 in the United States, but spent the first seven years of his life with his Baptist missionary parents in a small town in the former Belgian Congo; he received his B.A. from Bob Jones University in Greenville, North Carolina, and advanced theological degrees from three other leading seminaries, including Covenant Theological Seminary and College in St. Louis; and

WHEREAS, Reverend Webber began teaching in 1960 at Covenant Theological Seminary and College; he went on to teach at Wheaton College from 1968 until 2000, when he moved to Northern Baptist Theological Seminary in Lombard and became director of the worship and spirituality program; in 1998, he founded the Robert E. Webber Institute for Worship Studies in Orange Park, Florida, which offers graduate programs in Christian theology; and

WHEREAS, Reverend Webber was one of the leading experts on how Christians have worshipped over the centuries; he wrote more than 40 books on theology and was the editor of the seven-volume "The Complete Library of Christian Worship", a series of books that chronicle the history of Christian worship from its beginnings; and

WHEREAS, Reverend Webber was known for his ability to take history and his scholarship and convert it into language that had meaning for today's readers and scholars; he devoted himself fully to his work despite a hard-fought battle with cancer; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn, along with his family and friends, the passing of Reverend Robert E. Webber; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to the family of Reverend Robert E. Webber as an expression of our sympathy.