LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION commemorating the 150th Anniversary of St.
Michael's Lutheran Church of Akron, New York, to be celebrated on
Sunday, September 27, 2009

WHEREAS, Religious institutions, and the many spiritual, social and
educational benefits they confer, play a vital role in the development
of the moral fabric of a responsible citizenry; and
WHEREAS, It is the tradition of this State and this Nation to pay
tribute to those institutions and individuals who have contributed to
the ethical and spiritual values of their communities; and
WHEREAS, This Legislative Body takes pleasure in commemorating the
150th Anniversary of St. Michael's Lutheran Church of Akron, New York,
to be celebrated on Sunday, September 27, 2009; and
WHEREAS, The ancestors of St. Michael's Lutheran Church came to Ameri-
ca from Prussia to escape religious persecution in the 1840s; they were
German Lutheran immigrants who first came to Buffalo by way of the Erie
Canal; helped by earlier immigrants in Buffalo and Bergholtz, they even-
tually established their own community, named after the man from whom
they purchased the land, Samuel Wolcott; and
WHEREAS, Wolcottsville is a small community in the southeast corner of
Niagara County, New York, near the Tonawanda Indian Reservation; and
WHEREAS, The first congregation established was Trinity Lutheran
Church and the congregation broke off from theirs in 1857; then, on
September 29, 1859, (the Festival of St. Michael and All Angels) St.
Michael's Lutheran Church was formed under the auspices of the newly
formed German Evangelical Lutheran Synod of Missouri, Ohio and other
States, currently known as the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod; and
WHEREAS, St. Michael's Lutheran Church stands on the threshold of
tomorrow, prepared to meet the challenges of the coming decades while
retaining that spiritual resolve which characterizes its past; and
WHEREAS, It is the custom of this Legislative Body to take note of
enduring religious institutions and to bring such institutions to the
attention of the people of this Empire State; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
commemorate the 150th Anniversary of St. Michael's Lutheran Church of
Akron, New York, to be observed on Sunday, September 27, 2009, fully
confident that this commemoration reflects the belief in those values
which enhance the dignity and purpose of life; and be it further
RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be tran-
smitted to Reverend Bruce C. Donley, Pastor, St. Michael's Lutheran
Church, 6379 Wolcottsville Road, Akron, New York 14001.