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| 4 | 5 | | R E S O L U T I O N |
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| 5 | 6 | | WHEREAS, The clergy and congregation of St. John Lutheran |
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| 6 | 7 | | Church in Bishop are celebrating more than a century of faithful |
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| 7 | 8 | | witness and service with the dedication of an Official Texas |
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| 8 | 9 | | Historical Marker on April 26, 2015; and |
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| 9 | 10 | | WHEREAS, St. John traces its roots to May 1913, when the |
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| 10 | 11 | | Reverend F. J. Lange and 13 German Lutheran families established |
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| 11 | 12 | | Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church; members initially met at a local |
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| 12 | 13 | | school and at a farmhouse while they raised funds to construct a |
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| 13 | 14 | | sanctuary; in 1915, the congregation changed its name to St. John |
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| 14 | 15 | | Evangelical Lutheran Church, and two years later it completed its |
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| 15 | 16 | | first building, with the parishioners doing most of the work; and |
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| 16 | 17 | | WHEREAS, For several decades, services at the church were |
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| 17 | 18 | | conducted in the German language; in 1919, with prejudice against |
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| 18 | 19 | | German Americans running high in the aftermath of World War I, the |
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| 19 | 20 | | Ku Klux Klan set fire to St. John's sanctuary; undaunted, the |
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| 20 | 21 | | congregation worshipped in a barn while it rebuilt, and it moved |
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| 21 | 22 | | into its new sanctuary by the end of the year; gradually, more and |
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| 22 | 23 | | more services were conducted in English, and in 1939, services in |
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| 23 | 24 | | German were discontinued; and |
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| 24 | 25 | | WHEREAS, In 1940, St. John bought its current site for just |
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| 25 | 26 | | under $300 and built a parsonage and an education building using |
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| 26 | 27 | | wood from the old church; World War II delayed the rest of the |
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| 27 | 28 | | construction program, and members worshipped in the education |
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| 28 | 29 | | building until a new stone sanctuary was erected in 1951; by 1958, |
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| 29 | 30 | | the church campus had grown to encompass the entire block, along |
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| 30 | 31 | | with new classrooms and offices, and in 1972 a new parsonage was |
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| 31 | 32 | | built; another milestone occurred in 1963, when the present name of |
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| 32 | 33 | | the church was adopted; and |
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| 33 | 34 | | WHEREAS, Throughout the life of this venerable institution, |
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| 34 | 35 | | succeeding generations have honored and built on the work of those |
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| 35 | 36 | | who have gone before, and it is a privilege to recognize the |
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| 36 | 37 | | continuing commitment of this congregation to its faith and to the |
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| 37 | 38 | | wider community; now, therefore, be it |
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| 38 | 39 | | RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 84th Texas |
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| 39 | 40 | | Legislature hereby commemorate the dedication of an Official Texas |
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| 40 | 41 | | Historical Marker at St. John Lutheran Church in Bishop and extend |
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| 41 | 42 | | to the church's clergy and congregation sincere best wishes for a |
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| 42 | 43 | | meaningful and memorable event; and, be it further |
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| 43 | 44 | | RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
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| 44 | 45 | | prepared for the church as an expression of high regard by the Texas |
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| 45 | 46 | | House of Representatives. |
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