2026 SPECIAL SESSION I

INTRODUCED

26200217D

HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 2128

Offered June 17, 2026

Commending Providence Park Baptist Church.

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Patrons—Cousins, Anderson, Anthony, Bulova, Callsen, Carroll, Cole, J.G., Cole, N.T., Dougherty, Gardner, Glass, Hope, Laufer, LeVere Bolling, Martinez, McAuliff, McPike, McQuinn, Mehta, Pope Adams, Rasoul, Reid, Schmidt, Shin, Ward and Willett

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WHEREAS, for 150 years, Providence Park Baptist Church has served as a beacon of faith and fellowship for members of the Richmond community; and

WHEREAS, Providence Park Baptist Church traces its origins to a series of family prayer meetings in the homes of Richard Jones, William Edwards, Wesley Jones, and Louis Cooper; and

WHEREAS, on May 27, 1876, one-half acre of land in Richmond's Northside neighborhood was purchased by three trustees, Richard Jones, Peter Markins, and Enoch Braxton, for what would become Providence Park Baptist Church; and

WHEREAS, in 1879, a small chapel known as the Dick Jones Meeting House was built on that land, with the Reverend Rashi Harris serving as the first minister of the fledgling congregation; and

WHEREAS, the church continued to expand in the early 20th century, and in 1912, the former Monument Methodist Church was purchased and relocated to better serve the Providence Park Baptist Church congregation as it grew in both faith and number; and

WHEREAS, Providence Park Baptist Church held its first services in its current sanctuary in 1966 and constructed an education building in 1974; and

WHEREAS, Providence Park Baptist Church has been blessed by the leadership of many long-serving and devoted pastors, including the Reverend J. J. Woodson (1903–1957), the Reverend Miles J. Jones (1963–1993), and current pastor, the Reverend Dr. Jerome C. Ross (1993–Present); and

WHEREAS, Providence Park Baptist Church gives back to the Richmond community by participating in the We-Care Fellowship to donate school supplies and Christmas gifts to those in need, partnering with the Boys and Girls Clubs of Metro Richmond, and working with the Cooperative Outreach Ministry and the Tuckahoe Baptist Association of Virginia to assist neighbors in need; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, That Providence Park Baptist Church hereby be commended on the occasion of its 150th anniversary; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to Providence Park Baptist Church as an expression of the House of Delegates' admiration for the church's long history and legacy of service to the residents of Northside Richmond.