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2019 SESSION


HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 782
Commending Chapel Grove United Church of Christ.

 

Agreed to by the House of Delegates, February 11, 2019
Agreed to by the Senate, February 21, 2019

 

WHEREAS, Chapel Grove United Church of Christ in Windsor celebrated its 150th anniversary on October 20, 2018; and

WHEREAS, Chapel Grove United Church of Christ is the oldest and largest African American congregation in Isle of Wight County, tracing its roots to the time after the Civil War, when many African Americans broke away from white churches to hold their own worship services in whatever locations were available to them; and

WHEREAS, in 1868, the founding members of the Chapel Grove United Church of Christ left Antioch Church to establish their own faith community; those congregants began holding services a few miles away under a bush arbor, coming together in a central place once a month, with some members traveling miles and leaving home early and returning late or even staying overnight; and

WHEREAS, in 1899, the congregation of Chapel Grove United Church of Christ acquired property for the construction of a new church building, which was completed in 1916; originally the name of the Church was Chapel Grove Congregational Christian Church, and the final name change occurred when the congregation merged with the United Church of Christ in 1957, leading to 80 Tidewater-area churches merging into a single association; and

WHEREAS, Chapel Grove United Church of Christ continues to be a member in good standing with the Eastern Virginia District of the Southern Conference of the United Church of Christ; and

WHEREAS, Chapel Grove United Church of Christ has been instrumental in sponsoring many civic, health, cultural, educational, and religious programs in which both youths and adults in the community benefit; the church also works with the Isle of Wight Sheriff’s Department to promote career choices for youths after high school graduation; and

WHEREAS, Chapel Grove United Church of Christ took an active role in the Town of Windsor’s centennial celebration and sponsors programs at the Georgie D. Tyler Middle School in Windsor, which sits on the property that held the first segregated African American public school, where many of the current and former church members were educated or were teachers and principals; and

WHEREAS, the Chapel Grove United Church of Christ has led numerous other programs to assist the community and its congregants, including a daycare, events, and scholarships that promote students’ academic progress, and winter nutrition and heating assistance for the less fortunate; and

WHEREAS, the minister of Chapel Grove United Church of Christ, the Reverend H. Carlyle Church, Jr., works tirelessly to bring the congregation together through biblical scripture and yearly events, large and small, to maintain a spiritual community; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the General Assembly hereby commend Chapel Grove United Church of Christ on the occasion of its 150th anniversary; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to the Reverend H. Carlyle Church, Jr., spiritual leader of Chapel Grove United Church of Christ, as an expression of the General Assembly’s admiration for the church’s legacy of contributions to the community of Isle of Wight County.