Resolution 181117

..Title Also naming the 6400 block of Ogontz Avenue as "Ernest C. Morris Way" in honor of Bishop Ernest C. Morris, Founding Pastor of the Mt. Airy Church of God in Christ, for his 50 years of service to the community. ..Body WHEREAS, Bishop Morris' life changing moment with God set him on a path to destiny in the founding of a tiny mission church in 1966 with eighteen Sunday School children and he followed that path through explosive growth of his congregation and expansion of community impacting ministries; and WHEREAS, Expanding the ministries to serve not just his congregants but the wider community became the trademark of the "miracle church" at 34 East Sharpnack Street, the beginning of the mega ministry at 7800 Ogontz Avenue, the remodeling of the Bethesda Building at 6401 Ogontz Avenue, the creation of the Community Development Corporation, and the building of the Family Life Center, all which testify to Bishop Morris' ongoing vision of building a community of faith; and WHEREAS, Bishop Morris has been and is an integral part of every progressive move in our City receiving accolades from virtually every level social service and civic organization and personal citations of excellence from three Presidents: Presidents Clinton, Bush and Obama; Governors Rendell and Corbett, and Mayors Wilson Goode, John Street, and Michael Nutter; and WHEREAS, Bishop Morris was recognized for his leadership in 2000 when the Presidium of the more than 6,000,000 member Church of God in Christ bestowed on him the mantle of "Bishop" along with the responsibility for the oversight of 30 churches in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, The KOINONIA OF Pennsylvania Jurisdiction; and WHEREAS, Bishop Morris is ably seconded by his wife, Winifred W. Morris, a true and fully vested partner in ministry and a nationally known motivational speaker, seminar teacher and author. They are the devoted and proud parents of a group of four talented children and their spouses, five exceptional grandchildren and one delightful great grandson; and WHEREAS, Always a forward thinker and a visionary churchman, Bishop Morris in 2010 chose to bring alongside an ably talented and dynamic leadership couple, Dr. J. Louis Felton and Lady Priscilla Felton, to assume the mantle of Pastorship of this grand ministry and allow Bishop to turn his considerable skills and energy to helping the forty Pastors under his leadership to fully benefit from church growth; and WHEREAS, Bishop Morris has been instrumental in establishing shelters for homeless men and displaced families, a Christian Day school, senior programs, summer camps, after school programs, youth sports teams, employment referrals, scholarships, and any endeavor that blesses and benefits the spiritual and natural quality of life of the more than 4000 members who make up the congregation and its surrounding community; now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, That the 6400 Block of Ogontz Avenue also be named "Ernest C. Morris Way" in honor of Bishop Ernest C. Morris, Founding Pastor of the Mt. Airy Church of God in Christ, for his 50 years of service to the community. ..End