2021 -- H 6473

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LC003079

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2021

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H O U S E   R E S O L U T I O N

HONORING REVEREND DOCTOR CARL H. BALARK, JR., AND HIS WIFE, SISTER

ELLA J. BALARK, ON THE JOYOUS CELEBRATION OF THEIR 29TH ANNIVERSARY

AS PASTOR AND FIRST LADY OF EBENEZER BAPTIST CHURCH

     Introduced By: Representatives Ranglin-Vassell, Shekarchi, Blazejewski, Hull, Alzate,
Felix, Abney, Speakman, Chippendale, and J Lombardi

     Date Introduced: June 25, 2021

     Referred To: House read and passed

     WHEREAS, Pastor Balark’s extraordinary leadership abilities, deep interest in church

history and administration, and his love of people and abiding faith in the Lord were noticed by

his parents, Eloise and Carl Balark, Sr., and many others when he was a young child growing up

on the Eastern Shore of Virginia. Thanks to the love and encouragement he received from his

parents, he was able to further his education and fulfill his aspirations by attaining degrees from

Morgan State University, the Samuel DeWitt Proctor School of Theology, and Virginia

University; and

     WHEREAS, The Reverend Doctor Carl Balark, Jr., became the Pastor of Ebenezer

Baptist Church in 1992, and thanks to his leadership and guidance, the church has grown in many

important ways. Membership has increased and its mission impact has expanded exponentially

both locally and globally. Members of Ebenezer Church are offered the opportunity to take part in

missional ministry and evangelism activities, and thanks to Pastor Balark, staff and volunteers

have been added to participate in inclusive ministries that serve the church, the wider community

and the world. Missionaries from the church preach the Gospel across the globe and have

established partnerships internationally with sister churches and a school; and

     WHEREAS, Pastor Balark was the first African-American President of the Rhode Island

State Council of Churches and has served as the first Moderator of the Greater Fellowship Baptist

Association of Rhode Island and vicinity. Pastor Balark currently serves as the President of the

American Baptist Churches of Rhode Island (ABCORI), and as a member of the Rhode Island

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. State Holiday Commission. He has also been recognized and honored

by numerous organizations for his extraordinary leadership and service to the church and wider

community; and

     WHEREAS, Pastor Balark could not have accomplished all that he has as a church leader

without the wise counsel and tireless work ethic contributed by his wife, Sister Ella J. Balark, in

their thirty-six years of marriage. Mrs. Balark, known as "Lady Balark" within the Church, is also

a native of the Eastern Shore of Virginia and holds multiple advanced degrees. She has worked in

the Providence Public Schools as an inclusion math and science teacher, and presently, serves as

the Director of the Ministry of Christian Education at the Ebenezer Baptist Church; now,

therefore be it

     RESOLVED, That this House of Representatives of the State of Rhode Island hereby

honors Reverend Doctor Carl H. Balark, Jr., and his wife, Sister Ella J. Balark, on the joyous

celebration of their 29th Anniversary as Pastor and First Lady of Ebenezer Baptist Church; and be

it further

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

transmit a duly certified copy of this resolution to the Reverend Doctor Carl H. Balark, Jr., and

Mrs. Ella J. Balark.

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LC003079

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