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PROPOSED RESOLUTION
HONORING REVEREND DR. ALVIN BRIDGES UPON THE OCCASION OF HIS RETIREMENT FOR HIS OVER FIFTY YEARS AS A MINISTER
WHEREAS, on Saturday, June 14, 2014 the Corner Stone Presbyterian Church faith community will be celebrating Reverend Dr. Alvin Bridges' upcoming retirement; and
WHEREAS, Reverend Dr. Bridges' faith dispensations have helped countless many in their individual faith journeys; and
WHEREAS, Reverend Dr. Bridges is to be applauded for his steadfast commitment to uplifting lives and serving the needs of families and individuals throughout the Corner Stone Presbyterian Church faith community, and in the larger community as well, for the past 12 years
WHEREAS, a farm boy as a child, Reverend Dr. Bridges became, over the years, a learned man, having earned a PhD in Divinity from Buckner University in Fort Worth, Texas in 1978; and
WHEREAS, while still in college, Reverend Dr. Bridges worked with Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in the Civil Rights Movement; and
WHEREAS, Reverend Dr. Bridges has shepherded a number of churches since his ordination in 1958, including, early on, the New Philadelphia Church - Baptist (Assistant Pastor), the Sixth Presbyterian Church of Chicago (Youth Minister) and Good Hope Presbyterian Church in Bessemer, Alabama (Pastor); and
WHEREAS, Reverend Dr. Bridges was called in 1969 to be the Pastor of Warren Central United Church of Chicago and Central Presbyterian Church in Chicago, which had merely 42 members between them; by the time Reverend Dr. Bridges resigned in 1974, their combined membership totaled 237; and
WHEREAS, in 1973, Reverend Dr. Bridges assumed the position of Executive Director of Associated Urban Ministries, Presbytery of Chicago; in this position he provided dedicated leadership and enabling resources for the African American Presbyterian churches; and
WHEREAS, in 1976, Reverend Dr. Bridges travelled to East Africa to establish a relationship between the East African Presbyterian Church and the American Presbyterian Church, during this trip he visited churches in Geneva, Switzerland; Nairobi, Kenya; Tanzania; Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; and Cairo, Egypt; during his trip Reverend Dr. Bridges met not only with church leaders but with ambassadors and heads of state; and
WHEREAS, in 1982, Reverend Dr. Bridges accepted the call to pastor the South Shore Presbyterian Church; under his tenure, the South Shore Presbyterian Church and Roseland Presbyterian Churches merged to create the Corner Stone Presbyterian Church; and
WHEREAS, in 2003, Reverend Dr. Bridges was installed as Moderator of the Presbytery, which is composed of 106 congregations with a membership of 43,000 members; his service included many levels of its administrative and program mission work; and
WHEREAS, ever by Reverend Dr. Bridges' side over the course of his of ministry was Mary T. Ward, whom Reverend Dr. Bridges married on August 20, 1966, and who was born into Eternal Life on April 28, 2003; and
WHEREAS, the faith community of Corner Stone Presbyterian Church is truly privileged and favored by God to have had Reverend Dr. Alvin Bridges -a man of character and leadership - as their Pastor for the past twelve years.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Cook County Board of Commissioners, on behalf of the residents of Cook County, does hereby thank Reverend Dr. Alvin Bridges for his important and commendable work on behalf of our County and wishes him a fulfilling retirement and every continued success in his future endeavors.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that a copy of this Resolution be tendered to Reverend Dr. Alvin Bridges, as a token of the esteem in which he is held by the President of the Cook County Board of Commissioners and the Cook County Board of Commissioners.
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