South Carolina H 4452: Silver Hill Memorial United Methodist Church-156th anniversary

Bill Text

2025-2026 Bill 4452 Text of Previous Version (Apr. 30, 2025) - South Carolina Legislature Online 

South Carolina General Assembly
126th Session, 2025-2026

Bill 4452

Indicates Matter Stricken
Indicates New Matter

(Text matches printed bills. Document has been reformatted to meet World Wide Web specifications.)

A house RESOLUTION

TO CELEBRATE THE JOYOUS OCCASION OF THE ONE HUNDRED 
FIFTy-sixTH ANNIVERSARY OF Silver Hill Memorial United Methodist Church AND TO 
CONGRATULATE AND HONOR Reverend Dr. Morris Waymar Jr. AND THE CONGREGATION FOR 
THEIR longstanding and DEDICATED SERVICE TO THE Spartanburg COMMUNITY.

Whereas, the South 
Carolina House of Representatives is pleased to learn that Silver Hill Memorial 
United Methodist Church of Spartanburg is celebrating its one hundred fifty-sixth 
anniversary in 2025; and

Whereas, one of 
Spartanburg's older churches, Silver Hill Memorial United Methodist Church is 
the oldest African American Methodist congregation in the city, dating back to 
1869. Tradition holds that, as the first permanent church building was being 
built, church members placed silver dollars under each corner of the new church 
on a hill, giving it the name of Silver Hill; and

Whereas, the founder 
and first minister of Silver Hill, Reverend James R. Rosemond, was held in such 
high esteem by black Methodists in his day that he came to be called "Father 
Rosemond," an unusual title for a Methodist elder; and

Whereas, born in 
slavery and separated from his parents at age six, Reverend Rosemond was sent 
to live with a Methodist minister's family, where he felt a call to ministry at 
an early age. As a young adult, he was licensed to exhort, similar to today's 
lay speaker, and in the late 1850s, he was licensed as a "colored preacher." 
After emancipation, he was ordained into the Methodist ministry and sent to 
minister to the freedmen in the Upstate; and

Whereas, he founded a 
large number of African American Methodist churches from Anderson and Oconee 
counties in the west and through York and Chester counties in the east. He eventually 
returned to Spartanburg in his later years, and at least one of his daughters 
remained a devoted member and Sunday school teacher at Silver Hill for many years; 
and

Whereas, Silver Hill 
Church moved from its home on North Converse Street to a new location west of 
downtown in the late 1990s. In the summer of 2024, Orangeburg native Reverend 
Morris Waymer Jr. became the pastor of Silver Hill, a man deeply rooted in 
family values; and

Whereas, the ministry 
of Silver Hill involves serving not only the church, but also its surrounding 
community: raising money for local ministries, reaching out to local elementary 
schools to help, striving to collaborate in everything, and advocating for racial 
reconciliation in the community; and

Whereas, the South 
Carolina House of Representatives commends Silver Hill Memorial United 
Methodist Church in Spartanburg for more than a century and a half of ministry 
in and service to the community and extends warmest congratulations on the 
occasion of the church's historic anniversary. Now, therefore,

Be it resolved by the House 
of Representatives:

That the members of the South Carolina House of Representatives, by this resolution, celebrate 
the joyous occasion of the one hundred fifty-sixth anniversary of Silver Hill Memorial 
United Methodist Church and congratulate and honor Reverend Dr. Morris Waymar 
Jr. and the congregation for their longstanding and dedicated service to the Spartanburg 
community.

Be it further resolved that a copy of this resolution 
be presented to Reverend Dr. Morris Waymar Jr.

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This web page was last updated on April 30, 2025 at 02:26 PM