Bill Text: IL HR0580 | 2009-2010 | 96th General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Congratulates Paul Koch on the occasion of his retirement as Senior Pastor of Ebenezer Lutheran Church.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2009-10-14 - Resolution Adopted [HR0580 Detail]
Download: Illinois-2009-HR0580-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 Paul Koch on the | ||||||
| 4 | occasion of his retirement as Senior Pastor of Ebenezer | ||||||
| 5 | Lutheran Church on June 30, 2009; and
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| 6 | WHEREAS, Paul Koch was raised in New York City; he attended | ||||||
| 7 | school at Concordia Junior College in Bronxville, New York and | ||||||
| 8 | Concordia Senior College in Fort Wayne, Indiana; after spending | ||||||
| 9 | a year with Richard John Neuhaus in 1965, he enrolled at | ||||||
| 10 | Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, Missouri; he received his | ||||||
| 11 | Master of Divinity degree from the seminary in 1970; that same | ||||||
| 12 | year, he was ordained and began a five year pastorate at | ||||||
| 13 | Transfiguration Lutheran Church, the oldest African-American | ||||||
| 14 | Lutheran congregation in St. Louis; and
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| 15 | WHEREAS, In 1976, Paul Koch accepted the call to serve at | ||||||
| 16 | Grace Lutheran Church in Detroit (now Genesis Lutheran Church); | ||||||
| 17 | he also transferred his roster status to the American Lutheran | ||||||
| 18 | Church at that time; in 1981, he accepted the call to serve at | ||||||
| 19 | Black Hawk Lutheran Ministry in Waterloo/Cedar Falls, Iowa, | ||||||
| 20 | which was formed as a new cooperative ministry of five ALC | ||||||
| 21 | congregations; during his 8 years of service there, the | ||||||
| 22 | ministry expanded to include LCA congregations and grew to | ||||||
| 23 | eleven members; the ministry also helped to establish regional | ||||||
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| 1 | food banking and build bridges between the white and | ||||||
| 2 | African-American communities; and
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| 3 | WHEREAS, In 1989, Paul Koch was called to serve as senior | ||||||
| 4 | pastor at Ebenezer Lutheran Church; during his tenure as senior | ||||||
| 5 | pastor, the church's strategy has been to position Ebenezer as | ||||||
| 6 | a spiritual and community center for those who live in | ||||||
| 7 | Andersonville and the north side of Chicago; today, the | ||||||
| 8 | building's constituency includes Latinos, African-Americans, | ||||||
| 9 | Africans, gays, lesbians, seniors, youth, families, and those | ||||||
| 10 | with special needs seeking support; and
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| 11 | WHEREAS, Paul Koch and his wife, Sharon, have two grown | ||||||
| 12 | sons, Jeremy and Philip; he will now have more time to enjoy | ||||||
| 13 | his favorite hobbies, which include movies, reading, cycling, | ||||||
| 14 | and creating art glass projects; and
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| 15 | WHEREAS, Paul Koch has served as a model of dedication, | ||||||
| 16 | integrity, and hard work for the people of the State of | ||||||
| 17 | Illinois; therefore, be it
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| 18 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | ||||||
| 19 | NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we | ||||||
| 20 | congratulate Paul Koch on the occasion of his retirement and | ||||||
| 21 | wish him many happy and healthy retirement years; and be it | ||||||
| 22 | further
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| 1 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | ||||||
| 2 | presented to Paul Koch as an expression of our esteem and | ||||||
| 3 | respect.
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