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R E S O L U T I O N
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WHEREAS, Members of First United Methodist Church of |
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Palestine are joining together on September 11, 2011, to celebrate |
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the 100th anniversary of the dedication of their present building |
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and to mark 175 years of Methodism in the Palestine area; and |
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WHEREAS, It was in 1836, the same year that Texas won its |
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independence, that a Methodist missionary first arrived in the |
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settlement of Fort Houston, situated two miles west of present-day |
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Palestine, and began conducting services; in the early days, when |
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area residents gathered for worship, men would take turns standing |
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guard against the threat of Indian attack; and |
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WHEREAS, In 1840, the fledgling congregation began meeting in |
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the home of Roland Box, where services were led by the Reverend John |
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Wilson, from the Crockett Mission in adjacent Houston County; after |
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Palestine became the county seat in 1846, the congregation moved to |
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the new town, along with most of the other residents of Fort |
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Houston; a frame church, Bascom Chapel, was built by the Methodist |
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Society in 1850, and as the only church building in Palestine, it |
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was also used by the Baptists, Presbyterians, and Disciples of |
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Christ; the first Methodist Sunday school was organized in 1853; |
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and |
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WHEREAS, The Methodist congregation erected a new building, |
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designed by the noted Galveston architect Nicholas J. Clayton, in |
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1884 and named it Centenary Church, to mark a century of Methodism |
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in the United States; construction was begun on the current church |
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building in 1910, and a formal dedication took place the following |
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year; recent improvements have included new Sunday school and |
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children's buildings and a new fellowship hall; and |
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WHEREAS, Countless Texans have looked to First United |
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Methodist Church of Palestine for spiritual sustenance and guidance |
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through the years, and it is indeed a pleasure to recognize this |
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historic congregation; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 82nd Texas |
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Legislature, 1st Called Session, hereby commemorate the 100th |
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anniversary of the dedication of the First United Methodist Church |
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building in Palestine and 175 years of Methodism in the Palestine |
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area; and, be it further |
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RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
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prepared for First United Methodist Church of Palestine as an |
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expression of high regard by the Texas House of Representatives. |