2025 SESSION

INTRODUCED

25106890D

SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 278

Offered February 18, 2025

Commending Queen Street Baptist Church.

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Patron—Williams Graves

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WHEREAS, for more than 140 years, Queen Street Baptist Church in Norfolk has provided its congregation with uplifting spiritual guidance, joyful occasions for worship and fellowship, and abundant opportunities for community outreach; and

WHEREAS, Queen Street Baptist Church traces its origins to the First Colored Baptist Church of Norfolk, which later became Bank Street Baptist Church; and

WHEREAS, in December 1884, the Reverend Richard Spiller and 16 formerly enslaved people split from Bank Street Baptist Church to form Queen Street Baptist Church; and

WHEREAS, the congregation at Queen Street Baptist Church grew over time, and a new church building was constructed in 1910, which was later adorned with stained glass windows during the Great Depression; and

WHEREAS, in the late 1950s, Queen Street Baptist Church responded to the displacement of young people as a result of segregation in schools by establishing education programs for Norfolk's secondary students; and

WHEREAS, Queen Street Baptist Church has greatly supported the Norfolk community through various outreach endeavors, including food pantries and programs that feed thousands each year, a youth literacy program, substance abuse programs, a financial literacy program, and other impactful ministries; and

WHEREAS, Queen Street Baptist Church continues to evolve to meet the needs of the day, fully aware that faith is the foundation, hope is the motivator, and love is the bond that holds the community and mission together; and

WHEREAS, Queen Street Baptist Church has benefited from the wise and inspired leadership of several pastors over its history and is currently led by the Reverend Dr. Glenn E. Porter, who is also an adjunct associate professor in religious studies at Tidewater Community College and volunteer chaplain with the City of Norfolk Police Department; and

WHEREAS, by providing a spiritual home to countless individuals and families over the past 140 years, Queen Street Baptist Church has helped to make Norfolk a wonderful place to live, work, and raise a family; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the Senate of Virginia, That Queen Street Baptist Church hereby be commended on the occasion of its 140th anniversary in 2024; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the Senate prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to Queen Street Baptist Church as an expression of the Senate of Virginia's admiration for the church's history and appreciation for its contributions to Norfolk and the Commonwealth.