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R E S O L U T I O N
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WHEREAS, Members of the African Methodist Episcopal Church |
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are gathering at the State Capitol on March 19, 2025, in |
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celebration of AME Day; and |
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WHEREAS, A denomination with a long and storied history, the |
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African Methodist Episcopal Church was founded in Philadelphia in |
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1816 by Richard Allen, a previously ordained deacon of the |
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Methodist Episcopal Church; it evolved out of the Free African |
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Society, a group established in 1787 by Mr. Allen and other free |
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Blacks in response to the discrimination and exclusion they faced |
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in both social and religious spheres; born out of opposition to |
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slavery and to the dehumanization of people of African descent, the |
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AME Church carried forward the spirit of FAS in its dedication to |
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reaching out to the marginalized; and |
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WHEREAS, Mr. Allen was elected as the first bishop of the AME |
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Church by the first General Conference, which included ministers |
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from Methodist Episcopal congregations in the Philadelphia area, in |
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Delaware, and in Baltimore, Maryland; the denomination then |
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expanded westward and throughout the South, especially in the years |
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following the American Civil War, becoming the largest major |
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African American denomination in the Methodist tradition; and |
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WHEREAS, Though it holds the distinction of being the first |
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independent protestant denomination founded by Black people, the |
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AME Church welcomes members of all ethnicities; today, the church |
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continues to embrace its mission to minister to the spiritual, |
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intellectual, physical, emotional, and environmental needs of all |
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people by sharing the gospel through word and deed; and |
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WHEREAS, For more than two centuries, the African Methodist |
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Episcopal Church has been a vital force in promoting spiritual |
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enrichment while championing the rights and dignity of Black |
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communities, and the denomination has played a transformative role |
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in the lives of its members and in the nation at large; now, |
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therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 89th Texas |
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Legislature hereby recognize March 19, 2025, as AME Day at the |
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State Capitol and extend a warm welcome to all those who are |
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visiting Austin in observance of this occasion. |