Resolution Commemorating the 90 Anniversary of Mt. Pisgah Missionary Baptist Church
WHEREAS, Mt. Pisgah Missionary Baptist Church was founded on Sunday, July 11, 1926 in the Charles Crook Funeral Home at 3553 S. Cottage Grove Avenue by a group of eight visionary leaders led by Reverend G. W. Alexander; and
WHEREAS, On that first night the church took in a new convert to Christ who became Mt. Pisgah's first Baptismal candidate and five years later that very same candidate - now called Reverend Luke Mingo -would go on to become the church's second Pastor having been Baptized, Ordained and proven himself to be a dedicated minister of the Gospel; and
WHEREAS, Under Reverend Mingo's leadership the church moved multiple times before settling in at 467 E. Bowen Avenue where it was first led by Reverend Mingo, then Reverend A. E. Arnold and then by Reverend Joseph A. Wells until 1962; and
WHEREAS, It was in the year 1962 that Reverend Wells, through tireless effort and the grace of the community, was able to save enough money to purchase a larger building and on the 4th Sunday of October, 1962 Pastor Wells and his membership proudly marched from their home on East Bowen to the churches new and still existing location at 4600-4622 S. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive; and
WHEREAS, From its new location, Mt. Pisgah's congregation quickly grew to an upwards of 2,000 members, which caught the attention of the Honorable Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who graced the church with what would be one of his last church sermons on Sunday, August 27, 1967 entitled "Why Jesus Called a Man a Fool"; and
WHEREAS, Reverend Jesse Jackson selected Mt. Pisgah to hold a memorial service in honor of Dr. King following his passing and Reverend Wells would rename the church's administration building the Martin Luther King Social Center in his honor; and
WHEREAS, The church has enjoyed the guidance of Reverend Joseph Jackson, Reverend Carl Martin and now Reverend Ernest Franklin Ledbetter III, who has welcomed over 500 new members to the church secured new community partnerships and continues the great tradition of the church as a beacon in the community; now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED, That we, the Mayor and the City Council members of the City of Chicago hereby assembled on this the 13th day of April, 2016, do hereby congratulate Mt. Pisgah Missionary Baptist Church on their 90th anniversary and for their decades of service to the community; and
Pat Dowell Alderman, 3rd Ward
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be prepared and presented to Reverend Ernest Franklin Ledbetter III and to the members of Mt. Pisgah Missionary Baptist Church.