Bill Text: VA HJR423 | 2014 | Regular Session | Enrolled

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Bill Title: Commending Oakland Baptist Church.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Passed) 2014-03-07 - Bill text as passed House and Senate (HJ423ER) [HJR423 Detail]

Download: Virginia-2014-HJR423-Enrolled.html

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HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 423 Commending Oakland Baptist Church.

Agreed to by the House of Delegates, March 5, 2014 Agreed to by the Senate, March 7, 2014

WHEREAS, Oakland Baptist Church celebrates 300 years of supporting and uplifting the members of the Prince George County community in 2014; and

WHEREAS, tracing its deepest roots to the first settlers in Virginia, Oakland Baptist Church was founded in approximately 1714, when a Baptist meeting house originally known as Davenports was built on land donated by Sallie Davenport; and

WHEREAS, in 1870, the church was reorganized and renamed Old Shop; during World War I, a group of Czech-Slovak Baptists settled in Prince George County; led by Andrew Sluka, the group began to worship together in the church and renamed it Czech-Slovak Oakland Baptist Church; and

WHEREAS, Czech-Slovak Oakland Baptist Church immediately began to conduct missionary work in the community, and was accepted in the Petersburg Baptist Association of the Southern Baptist Convention in 1929; and

WHEREAS, during the 1950s, the church began to conduct all services and most Sunday school classes in the English language, and the name was changed to Oakland Baptist Church; and

WHEREAS, to accommodate growing Sunday school classes, Oakland Baptist Church built an educational building in 1969; the building was expanded in 2004; and

WHEREAS, in recent years, Oakland Baptist Church has continued to grow; the church now offers two services from a new sanctuary that was dedicated on January 23, 2011; and

WHEREAS, for 300 years, Oakland Baptist Church has succeeded in its mission to provide community outreach and offer a joyful place for the residents of Prince George County to enjoy fellowship and worship; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the General Assembly hereby commend Oakland Baptist Church on the occasion of its 300th anniversary; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to Oakland Baptist Church as an expression of the General Assembly's admiration for its storied history and contributions to the community.