11-R456

2011 -- S 1113

Enacted 11/17/11

S E N A T E R E S O L U T I O N

COMMEMORATING ROGER WILLIAMS BAPTIST CHURCH

Introduced By: Senators Ruggerio, and Goodwin

Date Introduced: November 17, 2011

     WHEREAS, In 1636, Roger Williams and a number of followers established the

settlement of Providence on Narragansett Bay.  In 1644, they obtained a royal charter for Rhode

Island which soon became a haven for those who suffered from religious persecution; and

     WHEREAS, In 1638, Roger Williams established the First Baptist Church in downtown

Providence.  More than 200 years later, beginning in 1865, members of what would become the

Roger Williams Baptist Church began meeting in the homes of various parishioners; and

     WHEREAS, The first chapel was completed in 1867, and given the name Roger

Williams Chapel. Two decades later, on April 28th of 1887, the Roger Williams Baptist Church,

named in honor of the state’s founder, was incorporated in Rhode Island; and

     WHEREAS, Over the centuries, the Roger Williams Baptist Church became the spiritual

home to generations of area families. The church provided a vital setting for worship, a dynamic

caring ministry, and a place to celebrate and share beginnings and find support and comfort

during life’s travails; and

     WHEREAS, During the next one hundred and forty-four years, the church underwent

myriad renovations and additions, as well as establishing a school and a panoply of community

related groups and societies; and

     WHEREAS, On November 20th of 2011, after more than fourteen decades, the ministry

and congregation of the Roger Williams Baptist Church will gather for a Final Worship Service,

marking the closing of the Roger Williams Baptist Church.  It is a time to remember with

thanksgiving the many ways in which God has blessed the church’s members and the lives of so

many Rhode Islanders; now, therefore be it

     RESOLVED, That this Senate of the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations

hereby commemorates the closing of the Roger Williams Baptist Church and wishes continued

spiritual enrichment, service, fulfillment, and success to its dedicated ministry and many

parishioners; and be it  further

     RESOLVED, That the Secretary of State be and he hereby is authorized and directed to

transmit a duly certified copy of this resolution to Dean Lees in care of Roger Williams Baptist

Church.

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LC03039

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