HomeMy WebLinkAboutRES-2014-057 Resolution Commemorating Saint Paul African Episcopal Church Res. 2014-057
ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
A RESOLUION COMMEMORATING SAINT PAUL AFRICAN METHODIST
EPISCOPAL CHURCH
ON THE 150TH YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF ITS FOUNDING
WHEREAS, in 1864, during the perilous times of the Civil War, Kenny Brooks, Green Cordal,
Charles Craig, J. Craig, Charles H. Johnson, C.E.H. Johnson, Green Merritt and William
Thompson, under the leadership of Jerry Hargraves and Edwin Allen, organized a Black
Methodist Church; and
WHEREAS, on December 29, 1864, men and women of African and Native American descent
assembled under a grape arbor to worship freely on the very same site where the present church
building stands on Merritt Mill Road in Chapel Hill; and
WHEREAS, in 1870, Saint Paul African Methodist Episcopal Church was inducted into the
African Methodist Episcopal Church system,headquartered in Philadelphia; and
WHEREAS, on April 15, 1878, the land for the church was purchased for the sum of$55, and
the church building was erected in December 1892; and
WHEREAS, Saint Paul AME Church building stands as an historical landmark of the local
Chapel Hill/Orange County community and of the State of North Carolina; and
WHEREAS, in 2002, Saint Paul AME Church formed a non-profit organization, the Grape
Arbor Development Corporation,targeting services to Orange County youth in grades K-8; and
WHEREAS, Saint Paul AME Church recently purchased 20.4 acres of land for the building of a
new and expanded worship center,and additional community amenities in the near future;
NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Orange County Board of County
Commissioners commends the services and achievements of the members, past and present, of
the Saint Paul African Methodist Episcopal Church over the past 150 years; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Orange County Board of County Commissioners
congratulates the members of Saint Paul African Methodist Episcopal Church on their
Sesquicentennial Anniversary,with Reverend Thomas O.Nixon presiding; and
BE IT MOREOVER RESOLVED that Saint Paul African Methodist Episcopal Church is
hereby recognized by the Orange County Board of County Commissioners as a pillar in the
community,that has served, and may continue to serve,as a beacon of hope,progress,revival and
freedom for all.
This the 4t"day of September 2014.
Barry Jaco
Orange County Board of Commissioners