Bill Text: SC S0348 | 2015-2016 | 121st General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Zion Chapel Baptist Church Number One
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Republican 28-18)
Status: (Passed) 2015-01-15 - Introduced and adopted [S0348 Detail]
Download: South_Carolina-2015-S0348-Introduced.html
A SENATE RESOLUTION
TO RECOGNIZE AND HONOR ZION CHAPEL BAPTIST CHURCH NUMBER ONE FOR ITS DEEP HERITAGE IN RICHLAND COUNTY AND TO CONGRATULATE THE CONGREGATION AND ITS PASTOR UPON THE CELEBRATION OF THE CHURCH'S ONE HUNDRED FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY.
Whereas, the members of the South Carolina Senate are pleased to learn that Zion Chapel Baptist Church Number One will celebrate its sesquicentennial anniversary on Sunday, February 22, 2015; and
Whereas, organized around 1865, Zion Chapel Baptist Church Number One sits as a Christian beacon on a hill near Crane Creek four miles north of downtown Columbia; and
Whereas, the church's historic cemetery dates to the 1880s, and early death certificates refer to the burial site as Crane Creek Cemetery; and
Whereas, the oldest African-American church in the Columbia area, it was founded by four former members of Sandy Level Baptist Church, a congregation of both white and black members before the American Revolution; and
Whereas, desiring to form their own congregation, the four men elected Reverend Joe Taylor as the first pastor and held early services in a brush arbor nearby; and
Whereas, the first permanent church on the original site still occupied today was a log building which was replaced by a frame church, while Reverend T. H. McNeal was pastor from 1907 to 1922. That structure subsequently was covered with brick veneer in 1941, then extensively renovated under the direction of Reverend A. J. Grove, Sr., who served as pastor from 1964 to 1978; and
Whereas, under the direction of Dr. Andrew J. Chisholm, elected as the church's ninth pastor in 1990 and serving thirteen years, the church inaugurated many new programs and events, such as the Back-to-School Fling, the Harvest Festival, and the Family and Friends Day; and
Whereas, the church purchased a forty-four-acre tract of land less than a mile from the church in the early years of the twenty-first century under the leadership of Doctor Carl R. Wells, the tenth pastor; and
Whereas, in 2009, Reverend Jesse Washington began his ministry to the congregation as the eleventh pastor, guided by his favorite Scripture found in Isaiah 6:8: "Also, I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, 'Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?' Then said I, 'Here I am; send me'"; and
Whereas, in 2013, Zion Chapel Baptist Church sponsored the research and dedication of a state historical marker at the site of the church; and
Whereas, the South Carolina Senate celebrates this significant milestone of a century and a half of meaningful spiritual ministry to the congregation and to the community of Zion Chapel Baptist Church Number One. Now, therefore,
Be it resolved by the Senate:
That the members of the Senate of the State of South Carolina, by this resolution, recognize and honor Zion Chapel Baptist Church Number One for its deep heritage in Richland County and congratulate the congregation and its pastor upon the celebration of the church's one hundred fiftieth anniversary.
Be it further resolved that a copy of this resolution be presented to Reverend Jesse Washington, Jr., Pastor of Zion Chapel Baptist Church Number One.
