Bill Text: TX HR2200 | 2015-2016 | 84th Legislature | Enrolled
Bill Title: Commemorating the dedication of an Official Texas Historical Marker at St. John Lutheran Church in Bishop.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2015-05-24 - Reported enrolled [HR2200 Detail]
Download: Texas-2015-HR2200-Enrolled.html
H.R. No. 2200 |
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WHEREAS, The clergy and congregation of St. John Lutheran | ||
Church in Bishop are celebrating more than a century of faithful | ||
witness and service with the dedication of an Official Texas | ||
Historical Marker on April 26, 2015; and | ||
WHEREAS, St. John traces its roots to May 1913, when the | ||
Reverend F. J. Lange and 13 German Lutheran families established | ||
Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church; members initially met at a local | ||
school and at a farmhouse while they raised funds to construct a | ||
sanctuary; in 1915, the congregation changed its name to St. John | ||
Evangelical Lutheran Church, and two years later it completed its | ||
first building, with the parishioners doing most of the work; and | ||
WHEREAS, For several decades, services at the church were | ||
conducted in the German language; in 1919, with prejudice against | ||
German Americans running high in the aftermath of World War I, the | ||
Ku Klux Klan set fire to St. John's sanctuary; undaunted, the | ||
congregation worshipped in a barn while it rebuilt, and it moved | ||
into its new sanctuary by the end of the year; gradually, more and | ||
more services were conducted in English, and in 1939, services in | ||
German were discontinued; and | ||
WHEREAS, In 1940, St. John bought its current site for just | ||
under $300 and built a parsonage and an education building using | ||
wood from the old church; World War II delayed the rest of the | ||
construction program, and members worshipped in the education | ||
building until a new stone sanctuary was erected in 1951; by 1958, | ||
the church campus had grown to encompass the entire block, along | ||
with new classrooms and offices, and in 1972 a new parsonage was | ||
built; another milestone occurred in 1963, when the present name of | ||
the church was adopted; and | ||
WHEREAS, Throughout the life of this venerable institution, | ||
succeeding generations have honored and built on the work of those | ||
who have gone before, and it is a privilege to recognize the | ||
continuing commitment of this congregation to its faith and to the | ||
wider community; now, therefore, be it | ||
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 84th Texas | ||
Legislature hereby commemorate the dedication of an Official Texas | ||
Historical Marker at St. John Lutheran Church in Bishop and extend | ||
to the church's clergy and congregation sincere best wishes for a | ||
meaningful and memorable event; and, be it further | ||
RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be | ||
prepared for the church as an expression of high regard by the Texas | ||
House of Representatives. | ||
Herrero | ||
______________________________ | ||
Speaker of the House | ||
I certify that H.R. No. 2200 was adopted by the House on May | ||
21, 2015, by a non-record vote. | ||
______________________________ | ||
Chief Clerk of the House | ||