Senate Resolution No. 2320

BY: Senator GRIFFO

COMMEMORATING the 200th Anniversary of Tabernacle
Baptist Church of Utica, New York, to be celebrated
on October 5-6, 2019

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
200th Anniversary of Tabernacle Baptist Church of Utica, New York, to be
celebrated with a Jubilee featuring a Reunion Program and a Youth
Concert on Saturday, October 5, 2019, followed by a Worship Service on
Sunday, October 6, 2019; and

WHEREAS, Tabernacle Baptist Church was incorporated as Second
Baptist Church of the Village of Utica in 1819, when the First (Welsh)
Baptist Church dismissed 12 of its English-speaking members to establish
an English language congregation; and

WHEREAS, The congregation assumed its current name in 1865, after
constructing its present-day sanctuary building; in 1905, the
churchgoers added an educational building (Thorn Chapel), which to this
day houses the church's offices, fellowship hall, kitchen, meeting
rooms, and Sunday School rooms; and

WHEREAS, For most of the 20th Century Tabernacle Baptist Church
regarded itself as the American Baptist denominational flagship church
in eastern Oneida County; and

WHEREAS, In the Autumn of 1999, Tabernacle Baptist Church welcomed
the first Karen refugee family to arrive in Utica into its fellowship;
and

WHEREAS, The following year, Tabernacle Baptist Church formed a
Refugee Ministry Taskforce to help the congregation minister to the
growing number of Karen refugees arriving in the community from the
refugee camps on the Thailand-Burma border; and

WHEREAS, Today, Tabernacle Baptist Church is a congregation
comprised both of long-term residents of the community and new neighbors
who first came to the United States as refugees from Burma speaking in
two languages: English and Karen, living in city neighborhoods
surrounding the church building, suburban developments, and outlying
villages; and

WHEREAS, This fellowship embraces people of all ages: from infants
and toddlers, to children and teenagers, young adults, middle aged and
those in their golden years; Tabernacle Baptist Church is a community of
faith that practices the inclusive love of God and hospitality; and


WHEREAS, Tabernacle Baptist 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 200th Anniversary of the Tabernacle Baptist Church,
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
transmitted to Tabernacle Baptist Church.