House Resolution 11

A RESOLUTION COMMENDING THE SERVICE, LIFE AND LEGACY OF REVEREND JULIUS HOWELL BASS, SR., AND EXTENDING DEEPEST SYMPATHY TO HIS FAMILY AND FRIENDS UPON HIS PASSING.

WHEREAS, "To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heavens," and as such, the immaculate author and finisher of our soul's destiny, has summoned the mortal presence of our dearly beloved, Reverend Julius Howell Bass, Sr., to eternal rest as he departed this earthly life on Tuesday, May 28, 2013, having attained the biblically promised age of three score and ten years, causing great sorrow and loss to his family and friends; and

WHEREAS, as one of eight children, Reverend Bass was born in Gatesville, Mississippi, on March 3, 1943, to the late Cecil and Carrie A. Bass, who raised him on the tenets and precepts of selfless servanthood which compelled him to acknowledge Christ as his personal savior at the tender age of five, where he remained dutifully engaged on the battlefield for God laboring in the vineyard devoutly until accepting his calling to the ministry being licensed in October 1971 and ordained March 1972 at Pine Grove M.B. Church; and

WHEREAS, educated at Egypt Hill Elementary, Piney Woods Country Life School and Holtzclaw High School, Reverend Bass enlisted in the United States Army, serving six years during the Vietnam War era with tours in Korea and Vietnam, where upon his discharge he enrolled in Hinds County Junior College; and

WHEREAS, as made divinely provident for the design of his life, Reverend Bass married the love of his life and spiritual soulmate, the former Earlean Montgomery, and their marital union was fruitful with the blessing of four children; and

WHEREAS, aware of the five fold purpose of the ministry to save the souls of the sin afflicted with sound doctrine, Reverend Bass studied to show himself approved, rightly dividing the Word of God by enrolling in the Mississippi Baptist Seminary, where he earned both a bachelor of religious education and bachelor of Theology, and subsequent thereto furthered his theological matriculation at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and L.I.F.T. Bible Crusade College and Seminary where he respectively earned and was bestowed degrees as a master of divinity, honorary doctorate and a doctor of divinity; and

WHEREAS, in the Ecclesiastical order of the spirit, in trying the spirit by the spirit, Reverend Bass' purpose to enhance the spiritual horizons of his congregants evidenced not only his calling, but his having been a divine choice of God to preach his word, being instant in season and out of season, as made known throughout his highly effective ministerial career as a visionary, leader and pastor of Saint Paul M.B. Church of Brookhaven, organizing Bright Star M.B. Church in Crystal Springs, organizing and pastoring New Jerusalem M.B. Church in Brookhaven, serving as pastor of Sherman M.B. Church in Magnolia, pastoring Pleasant Valley M.B. Church in Laurel, and organizing and pastoring Koinonia M.B. Church in Laurel; and

WHEREAS, an active member in and throughout the State of Mississippi and the entire Southern Region as Vice President of the Ministers Alliance of Laurel, Dean of Students and Instructor at L.I.F.T. Bible Crusade College and Seminary, former Vice Moderator for the First Enterprise Baptist District Association and the Brookhaven Educational and Home Mission Baptist Association, lecturer First Enterprise Baptist District Congress of Christian Education, Support Group Chaplain for 1st Battalion, 155th Infantry Mississippi Army National Guard and 296th Transportation Company, United States Army Reserve, financial secretary for the South Mississippi Baptist Convention, former Dean of the South Mississippi Baptist Seminary, and Chaplain for the R.H. Watkins High School football team, Reverend Bass lived his entire adult life in the role of imparting blessings and service to others in the fulfillment of his Christian obligation as one of God's ministers; and

WHEREAS, in Reverend Bass's transformation from mortality to immortality, he now adorns the raiment of a spiritual host dressed in white, as he joins the league of chariot's escorts, as it is written in the Book of Revelation 21, "And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God [is] with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and God himself shall be with them, [and be] their God."; and

WHEREAS, Reverend Bass' earthly life's departure can be summarized in the joyful lyrics to Thomas on Chisolm and William Runyan's "Great is Thy Faithfulness":

"Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father;

There is no shadow of turning with thee,

Thou changest not, Thy compassions they fail not,

As thou has been, thou forever will be.

Great is Thy faithfulness! Great is Thy faithfulness!

Morning by morning new mercies I see

All I have needed Thy hand hath provided

Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord unto me!"; and

WHEREAS, although he has traversed the river of life to reunite with those who answered God's summons to life eternal and now beckon his arrival to the celestial shores of heaven's grandeur, the legacy of his memory, which if put to music would be as prolific and awe-inspiring as the sermon upon the mount, will continue to refresh the hearts and fond memories of his beloved survivors, including: devoted wife of 46 years, Earlean Montgomery Bass; children, Julius H. Bass, Jr., Zandra Marks, Joseph Bass and LaTonya Harris; seven grandchildren; one great-grandchild; two special sisters-in-law, Julia Odomes and Pearl Jefferson; and a host of other relatives and friends; and

WHEREAS, it is the policy of the House of Representatives to commend the life and legacy of Mississippi's native sons, such as Reverend Bass, who have blessed and enriched the lives of so many while present in this earthly life:

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, That we do hereby commemorate the life and legacy of Reverend Julius Howell Bass, Sr., whose life was a melodic aria, infusing the atmosphere with his charismatic rifts and stirring crescendos of life, love and encouragement, and to whose family we express our sincerest and deepest sympathy upon his passing.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be furnished to the family of Reverend Bass and to the members of the Capitol Press Corps.