Bill Text: IL HR1346 | 2017-2018 | 100th General Assembly | Introduced


Bill Title: Congratulates the Rev. Dr. Alan Vincent Ragland on his retirement as pastor from the Third Baptist Church of Chicago after 26 years.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Passed) 2018-11-29 - Resolution Adopted [HR1346 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2017-HR1346-Introduced.html


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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION
2 WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3Representatives wish to congratulate the Rev. Dr. Alan Vincent
4Ragland on the occasion of his retirement as pastor from the
5Third Baptist Church of Chicago after 26 years; and
6 WHEREAS, Rev. Ragland completed his undergraduate studies
7at the University of Memphis; he received his Master of
8Divinity from the Colgate Rochester Divinity School and earned
9his Doctor of Ministry from the McCormick Theological Seminary;
10he served as pastor of the New Fellowship Baptist Church in
11Memphis prior to coming to Third Baptist Church as only the
12second pastor in its history; and
13 WHEREAS, Rev. Ragland was ordained by the Progressive
14National Baptist Convention, Inc. and the American Baptist
15Churches, USA; he served as the first full-time
16African-American faculty member at the Memphis Theological
17Seminary and as a theological educator at the McCormick
18Theological Seminary and the University of Chicago Divinity
19School; during his term as chairperson of the Mission
20Partnership Committee of American Baptist Churches of Metro
21Chicago, he spearheaded a partnership with the Ghana Baptist
22Convention in West Africa, where he traveled several times and
23led a group of TBCoC members on a mission trip in 2009; he

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1served as a board member of several theological institutions,
2including the McCormick Theological Seminary in Chicago, the
3Hood Theological Seminary in Salisbury, North Carolina, and the
4Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School in Rochester, New
5York; he was a founding member of United Power for Action and
6Justice; and
7 WHEREAS, Rev. Ragland worked extensively for lay and
8ministerial development; the first female ministers and
9deacons at TBCoC were ordained under his leadership; during his
10tenure, more than 25 persons have participated in the TBCoC
11Ministers-in-Training Program, which he developed; he is
12father-in-ministry to men and women in various clergy roles in
13Chicago and nationally; he is a contributing author of Living
14in Hell: The Dilemma of African-American Survival and wrote the
15meditation for Psalm 95 in the African-American Devotional
16Bible; and
17 WHEREAS, Rev. Ragland leaves the Third Baptist Church
18having expanded its missional footprint substantially; the
19congregation operates over three dozen ministries, including a
20weekly food pantry, a faith-based care network of health and
21wellness, grief share, Stephen Ministers, a youth development
22program, a Christian Education Program, a seniors ministry, a
23jail ministry, a variety of physical fitness options, college
24scholarships and grants for over 20 consecutive years, and a

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1number of community partnership services such as the One Church
2One School initiative and the implementation of interfaith
3worship services with the B'nai Jehoshua Beth Elohim Jewish
4congregation; he and the joint boards of Third Baptist Church
5developed Heritage Community Development Corporation and
6Quantum Faith non-profit organizations; he spearheaded the
7ALIVE! Program and led TBCoC in construction of the TBCoC Life
8Center; and
9 WHEREAS, Rev. Ragland is an inaugural member of the men's
10branch of the Praise Dance Ministry of Third Baptist and has
11danced faithfully for 10 years; he is a member of the church's
12male chorus and a soloist for the combined choirs; and
13 WHEREAS, Rev. Ragland is married to Barbara Ollie Ragland
14Ph.D.; he serves as vice president of The Lydia Group, founded
15by his wife; they are the proud parents of one daughter,
16Melanie Loren Ragland; therefore, be it
17 RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE
18HUNDREDTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we
19congratulate the Rev. Dr. Alan Vincent Ragland on his
20retirement as pastor from the Third Baptist Church of Chicago
21after 26 years, and we wish him the best in all his future
22endeavors; and be it further

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1 RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
2presented to Rev. Ragland as a symbol of our respect and
3esteem.
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