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91_HR0393
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1 HOUSE RESOLUTION
2 WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3 Representatives are pleased to acknowledge milestones within
4 the State of Illinois; and
5 WHEREAS, The First Baptist Church of Greenland in Beecher
6 City, Illinois is celebrating 140 years of ministry; and
7 WHEREAS, Pioneers from Knox and Holmes counties in Ohio
8 came by covered wagon to the Greenland area; on August 6,
9 1859 a council of five Baptist churches of the Missionary
10 faith met and organized the First Baptist Church of
11 Greenland; on August 12, 1859, the church united with the
12 Louisville Baptist Association; and
13 WHEREAS, Pastor T.M. Griffith was called to be the first
14 minister for the new Baptist Church; for many years the
15 congregation met in the Ransom Church, and they made the
16 decision by 1880 to build their own structure; on December
17 16, 1883 Elder Cable preached the dedication sermon in the
18 new church; and
19 WHEREAS, the church was the site of many annual meetings
20 of the Louisville Baptist Association until 1961, when the
21 church voted to withdraw from the Association and become an
22 independent Baptist church; and
23 WHEREAS, Throughout the years there have been more than
24 500 names listed on the membership rolls; the church has
25 continued to build, with the addition of an entrance foyer,
26 stained glass windows, a new floor, a new lectern, new pulpit
27 chairs, a basement, a Sunday School wing, a handicap
28 accessible ramp, vinyl siding, and a new roof; and
29 WHEREAS, Under the current leadership of Pastor Bill
30 Wessel, the First Baptist Church of Greenland continues to be
31 a vital part of its community and the congregation looks
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1 forward to the next 140 years; therefore, be it
2 RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
3 NINETY-FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
4 we congratulate the people of the First Baptist Church of
5 Greenland on their church anniversary; may they continue to
6 minister the gospel to the people of their area; and be it
7 further
8 RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
9 presented to the congregation of the First Baptist Church of
10 Greenland.
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