RESOLUTION COMMEMORATING REFRESHING LIFE CHRISTIAN CENTER'S ELEVEN YEARS OF SERVICE
WHEREAS, Refreshing Life Christian Center, established in December 2011 under the leadership of Pastor Kenneth Jones, has served the Park Manor community for over 11 years; and
WHEREAS, The Chicago City Council has been informed of the Center's accomplishments by the Honorable Stephanie D. Coleman, Alderman of the 16th Ward; and
WHEREAS, The early days of Refreshing Life Christian Center have been described as pioneering, enthusiastic, and prophetic, with the ministry hitting the ground running with outreach services such as prayer, mentorship, caritative social work, food, bible class, clothing drives, and job referrals; and
WHEREAS, As the ministry grew, Refreshing Life Christian Center started with daily services and weekly outdoor evangelical events and quickly expanded to offering programs and hosting events for those facing depression, hunger, poverty, and violence, including outreach, youth services, and hospital and home visits; and
WHEREAS, Volunteers with the Refreshing Life Christian Center help bring awareness to the need for youth to develop faith in God as a way of addressing violence in our City, and the Center has partnered with TASC - the Treatment Alternatives to Street Crime program created to respond to an increase in addiction-driven crime - to facilitate access to community-based treatment and recovery for tens of thousands of men, women, and youth; and
WHEREAS, Along with weekly in-person and online worship services, services for incarcerated people, and their many evangelistic events, Refreshing Life Christian Center also serves the immediate needs of the community by providing hundreds of free meals, coats and clothing giveaways, and fully stocked book bags at youth events and back-to-school rallies; and
WHEREAS, Since 2013, Refreshing Life Christian Center has held a Women's Symposium organized by First Lady Denise Jones, inviting women of all ages from across the Chicagoland area, and has conducted various women's events which have inspired women to better themselves physically, spiritually, mentally, psychologically, emotionally, and financially; and
WHEREAS, Under Pastor Jones leadership and inspired by the Lord, the Center continues to expand its ministry, purchasing a 5,000 square foot building along with almost a full acre of land in 2017, and launching a weeklong free summer camp for neighborhood children in 2018, to continue the Lord's work and benefit the Park Manor community; now, therefore
BE IT RESOLVED, That we, the Mayor and members of the City Council of the City of Chicago, gathered here this thirty-first day of May 2023, do hereby congratulate and recognize Pastor Jones and Refreshing Life Christian Center for over 10 years of service; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be prepared and presented to Refreshing Life Christian Center as a as token of our esteem and respect.
STEPHANIE D. COLEMAN Alderman, 16th Ward