H 4274  Resolution, By Moore
 A HOUSE RESOLUTION TO RECOGNIZE AND HONOR REVEREND DR. BYRON LEAVANCE BENTON
 UPON HIS INSTALLATION AS PASTOR OF MT. MORIAH MISSIONARY BAPTIST CHURCH IN
 NORTH CHARLESTON.
View full text
   03/20/19  House  Introduced and adopted (House Journal-page 51)

TO RECOGNIZE AND HONOR REVEREND DR. BYRON LEAVANCE BENTON UPON HIS INSTALLATION AS PASTOR OF MT. MORIAH MISSIONARY BAPTIST CHURCH IN NORTH CHARLESTON.

Whereas, the South Carolina House of Representatives is pleased to learn that Reverend Dr. Byron Benton will be installed as the tenth pastor of Mt. Moriah Missionary Baptist Church of North Charleston on Sunday, March 24, 2019; and

Whereas, a native of Greensboro, North Carolina, Pastor Benton earned a bachelor's degree from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical (N.C. A&T) State University and a master of divinity from Princeton Theological Seminary in New Jersey with a focus on homiletics and pastoral care. He earned a doctorate in marriage and family therapy from Eastern University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and

Whereas, a gifted percussionist, he instructed an urban charter middle school drumline at the Imani Institute in North Carolina, and he served as the chaplain of the N.C. A&T State University Band; and

Whereas, Pastor Benton founded the Berean Community Drumline (BCD) through the Berean Community and Family Life Center while he was an associate pastor at Berean Baptist Church in Brooklyn, New York, which became an award-winning drumline, performing at many venues and events; and

Whereas, devoted to his local community, he has worked closely with public and private organizations, serving as a chaplain at Trenton Psychiatric Hospital in New Jersey and as chaplain of the Association of Black Seminarians at Princeton Theological Seminary; and

Whereas, Pastor Benton served as a founding member of the board of directors for the Berean Community Center and as vice president of the Garden on Millbrook in Raleigh, North Carolina; and

Whereas, he served at Duke Divinity School in Durham, North Carolina, as an assistant instructor in homiletics and in Black church studies, and he is a member of the Christian Association for Psychological Studies (CAPS); and

Whereas, before arriving to serve at Mt. Moriah, Pastor Benton served as the pastor of Berean Baptist Church in Raleigh; and

Whereas, together with his beloved wife, the former Yasmeen Hadaway, he has reared two fine daughters, Arianna Brielle and Mayara Marie; and

Whereas, the South Carolina House of Representatives values Pastor Benton's dedicated ministry of empowering the people of God through the transformational power of Jesus Christ, and the members welcome him to the Palmetto State as he begins his ministry as the tenth pastor of Mt. Moriah Missionary Baptist Church in North Charleston. Now, therefore,

Be it resolved by the House of Representatives:

That the members of the South Carolina House of Representatives, by this resolution, recognize and honor Reverend Dr. Byron LeaVance Benton upon his installation as pastor of Mt. Moriah Missionary Baptist Church in North Charleston.

Be it further resolved that a copy of this resolution be presented to Reverend Dr. Byron LeaVance Benton.