A house RESOLUTION

 

TO CONGRATULATE Reverend A. L. Brackett ON THE OCCASION OF HIS ninetieth BIRTHDAY, to celebrate his seventy-one years of ministry, AND TO WISH HIM A JOYOUS BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION AND MANY YEARS OF CONTINUED HEALTH AND HAPPINESS.

 

Whereas, the South Carolina House of Representatives is delighted to learn that Reverend A. L. Brackett will celebrate his ninetieth birthday on April 19, 2025, surrounded by family and friends; and

 

Whereas, born on April 19, 1935, in the first third of the twentieth century, he has witnessed the many remarkable social changes, technological advancements, and international developments that have spanned the globe from that time into the first quarter of the twenty-first century; and

 

Whereas, a native of Cowpens, Reverend Brackett is the son of the late Johnny and Freelove Brackett and received his early education in the public schools of Spartanburg County, graduating from Taylor High School. He studied at Benedict College before transferring to community college and to the School of Religion at Abyssinia Baptist Church, both in New York, New York. He received a bachelor's degree and an honorary doctorate from Columbia Bible Institute; and

 

Whereas, licensed as a minister in 1954 at the Island Creek Baptist Church in Cowpens, he has been preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ for seventy-one years. He served as pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church in New York, Mt. Zion Baptist Church in Grambling, and Laurel Hill Baptist Church in Waterloo. He currently serves as pastor of Mt. Zion Baptist Church in Gaffney, where he has served for fifty-nine years, and of the St. Paul Baptist Church in Union, where he has served for fifty years. In his pastorates, churches have been transformed spiritually and physically; and

 

Whereas, dedicated to his community, Reverend Brackett has served on the Union County School Teachers Recruitment Committee and on the committee to evaluate the public schools of Union County, and on the boards of the Union County Health Foundation, the Art Gallery of Union County, the Thickety Mountain Baptist Association, and the Cherokee County Black Ministerial Alliance; and

 

Whereas, he served as the vice president of Palmetto State and Baptist Convention of South Carolina, president of the Downtown Ministerial Association of Union County, and moderator of the Pacolet River Baptist Association. He was a member of the Union/Laurens Commission for Higher Education for eleven years and was honored in 2012 by that commission for his contributions to the University of South Carolina-Union. He was honored in 2013 by Union County as an Annual Cornerstone Award recipient. In 2014, he was inducted into the Cherokee County Branch of the NAACP Hall of Fame. In 2018, he was appointed to chair a committee to provide leadership and guidance to pastors and ministers affiliated with the Baptist Educational and Missionary (E&M) Convention of SC. In 2022, he was honored by the Iris, Inc. as an Individual of Distinction; and

 

Whereas, Reverend Brackett received the Golden Age Award for ministering for over fifty years from the Baptist E&M Convention which also recognized him for outstanding leadership in the Christian community. The South Carolina Christian Action Council acknowledged him for pastoral leadership to a community during a time of distress; and

 

Whereas, together with his beloved wife, the late Jereleen Jefferies Brackett, he reared three fine children: Karen Brackett Browning, Amouel B. Brackett Jr., and Reginald Brackett.  His children have blessed him with the affection of four loving grandchildren; and

 

Whereas, the members of the South Carolina House of Representatives are pleased to honor this son of South Carolina at the celebration of his ninetieth birthday and join with his family and friends in congratulating him on reaching this extraordinary milestone. Now, therefore,

 

Be it resolved by the House of Representatives:

 

That the members of the South Carolina House of Representatives, by this resolution, congratulate Reverend A. L. Brackett on the occasion of his ninetieth birthday, celebrate his seventy-one years of ministry, and wish him a joyous birthday celebration and many years of continued health and happiness.

 

Be it further resolved that a copy of this resolution be presented to Reverend A. L. Brackett.

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