Bill Text: IL HR0080 | 2011-2012 | 97th General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Congratulates B.J. Gaston on the occasion of his retirement as Pastor of the Mt. Zion Baptist Church in Zion after 47 years of dedicated service.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2011-02-17 - Resolution Adopted [HR0080 Detail]
Download: Illinois-2011-HR0080-Introduced.html
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1 | HOUSE RESOLUTION
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2 | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | ||||||
3 | Representatives are pleased to congratulate B.J. Gaston on the | ||||||
4 | occasion of his retirement as Pastor of the Mt. Zion Baptist | ||||||
5 | Church in Zion after 47 years of dedicated service; and
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6 | WHEREAS, Bennie James Gaston is the sixth son born to | ||||||
7 | Rayfield and Dasie Gaston; at the age of 11, B.J. Gaston | ||||||
8 | accepted Christ as his personal savior; he was united in holy | ||||||
9 | matrimony to Rose Broome on June 25, 1957; and
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10 | WHEREAS, At the age of 20, B.J. Gaston entered the United | ||||||
11 | States Army and was assigned to the 101st Airborne Division; | ||||||
12 | after serving for two years, he was given an honorable | ||||||
13 | discharge; and
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14 | WHEREAS, Pastor Gaston completed a two-year program at | ||||||
15 | Concordia Bible College in Milwaukee; he also earned a bachelor | ||||||
16 | of theology degree and a master of divinity degree from | ||||||
17 | McKinley Theological Seminary in Jackson, Mississippi and has | ||||||
18 | been awarded doctor of divinity, doctor of laws, and doctor of | ||||||
19 | humane letters degrees from the Tennessee School of Religion; | ||||||
20 | and
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21 | WHEREAS, Pastor Gaston accepted the divine call into the |
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1 | ministry in 1957; he preached his first sermon on April 5, | ||||||
2 | 1957, at the Tabernacle Community Baptist Church in Milwaukee, | ||||||
3 | Wisconsin under the leadership of the now deceased Rev. J. L. | ||||||
4 | Williams; in 1959, he was ordained as a gospel preacher and was | ||||||
5 | also elected assistant pastor of Tabernacle Community Baptist | ||||||
6 | Church, where he served faithfully; in 1964, he was called to | ||||||
7 | pastor the Mt. Zion Baptist Church in Zion, where he has served | ||||||
8 | his congregation, the community, and God faithfully for 47 | ||||||
9 | years; and
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10 | WHEREAS, During Pastor Gaston's tenure, Mt. Zion Baptist | ||||||
11 | Church has undergone numerous substantial improvements; the | ||||||
12 | church has grown in membership from 40 to over 1,000; the | ||||||
13 | church's Mt. Zion Sheila Day Care Center, church edifice, and | ||||||
14 | Mt. Zion multi-purpose building were built, furnished, and paid | ||||||
15 | off; the church received $1.2 million from HUD and built the | ||||||
16 | B.J. Gaston Bethesda Village 40-unit elderly and handicapped | ||||||
17 | complex; the Mt. Zion Credit Union, a charter member of the | ||||||
18 | Illinois State Credit Union League, was created; the church | ||||||
19 | also started its own website under his leadership; and
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20 | WHEREAS, Pastor Gaston served as president of the North | ||||||
21 | Shore Baptist Ministers' Alliance for a total of 21 years; | ||||||
22 | under his leadership, the organization started the Martin | ||||||
23 | Luther King, Jr. memorial service, the tri-city revival, and | ||||||
24 | Good Friday services; he is the President and founder of the |
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1 | North Shore Bible College and Theological Seminary, Inc., now | ||||||
2 | called the North Shore Theological Seminary, Inc.; he is also a | ||||||
3 | past vice-moderator of the New Era District Fellowship (Chicago | ||||||
4 | vicinity) and a member of the National Urban League, the NAACP, | ||||||
5 | and the National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc.; and
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6 | WHEREAS, Pastor Gaston has been the recipient of numerous | ||||||
7 | awards and honors for his service in his community; in 1981, he | ||||||
8 | received a proclamation from the City of Waukegan; in 1987, he | ||||||
9 | received the keys to the City of Zion from Mayor Howard | ||||||
10 | Everline; in 1990, he received a resolution of commendation | ||||||
11 | from Zion Mayor Adeline Geo-Karis and an outstanding community | ||||||
12 | service designation from Illinois State Representative John | ||||||
13 | Matejevich; in 1997, he received the keys to the City of North | ||||||
14 | Chicago from Mayor Bobby Thompson; that same year, he received | ||||||
15 | an honorary street sign from the City of Zion and was named the | ||||||
16 | most influential African-American of Lake County by People's | ||||||
17 | Voice; in 1999, he was listed in the Nationwide Register's | ||||||
18 | Who's Who in Executives and Businesses 2000-2001 edition; in | ||||||
19 | 2004, he was named Man of the Year by the American Biographical | ||||||
20 | Institute, USA and received a letter of congratulations from | ||||||
21 | the office of Governor Rod Blagojevich; and
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22 | WHEREAS, Pastor Gaston serves as a model of hard work, | ||||||
23 | integrity, and dedication for the people of the State of | ||||||
24 | Illinois; therefore, be it
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1 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | ||||||
2 | NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | ||||||
3 | we congratulate B.J. Gaston on the occasion of his retirement | ||||||
4 | and wish him many happy and healthy retirement years; and be it | ||||||
5 | further
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6 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | ||||||
7 | presented to B.J. Gaston as a symbol of our esteem and respect.
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