Also naming Tasker Street, between South 20th Street and South 21st Street, "James A. Lovett II Way", in honor and recognition of his ongoing leadership of the Tasker Street Baptist Church and his service to the surrounding community and the City of Philadelphia.

WHEREAS, Reverend James A. Lovett II is a longtime resident of Philadelphia and a graduate of the Philadelphia public school system, having earned a diploma from Overbrook High School; and

WHEREAS, Reverend Lovett graduated from Bishop College in Austin, Texas, with a Bachelor of Arts degree, and from the Colgate Rochester Crozer Theological Seminary in Rochester, New York, with a Master of Divinity degree; and

WHEREAS, After completing his education, in May 1978, Rev. Lovett was ordained at Wayland Temple Baptist Church in Philadelphia, and served as an assistant pastor for that congregation under the leadership of Reverend Robert J. Lovett. Pastor Lovett’s journey in faith leadership continued at the Alta Mesa Baptist Church in Dallas, Texas, the Mount Vernon Baptist Church in Rochester, New York, and the Second Baptist Church of Le Roy, New York; and

WHEREAS, Reverend Lovett was called to pastor the historic Tasker Street Missionary Baptist Church in 1981 and has spent the past three and a half decades tirelessly working to build a multicultural ministry founded on education, evangelism, mission work, and praise; and

WHEREAS, Reverend Lovett maintains professional, civic and fraternal memberships across a wide range of organizations. Those memberships include the Board of Directors of the Pennsylvania Baptist State Convention, the Philadelphia Urban League, the Progressive National Baptist Convention, the Boys Club of America, the NAACP, the Lincoln Day Care Center, and the Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. The Reverend has also been involved with the Martin Luther King Fellows in Black Religious Studies and served as a professor at the Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary (now known as the Palmer Theological Seminary); and

WHEREAS, As Tasker Street Baptist celebrates its 143rd year of service to the Point Breeze community, Pastor Lovett’s leadership has been crucial to the congregation’s continued vitality and benefit to the community. Indeed, Tasker Street Baptist maintains 34 active missions within its walls; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY VIRTUE OF THIS CITATION, THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, Also names Tasker Street, between South 20th Street and South 21st Street, “James A. Lovett II Way”, in honor and recognition of his ongoing leadership of the Tasker Street Baptist Church and his service to the surrounding community and the City of Philadelphia.

FURTHER RESOLVED, That

an Engrossed copy of this resolution be presented to Pastor James A. Lovett II as evidence of the sincere respect and appreciation of this legislative body.

End