A house RESOLUTION

 

TO RECOGNIZE AND HONOR THE REVEREND YVONNE B. SIMMONS GREGG, PASTOR OF GREATER ST. PAUL AME CHURCH IN DORCHESTER, UPON THE OCCASION OF HER RETIREMENT AFTER MANY YEARS OF EXEMPLARY SERVICE AND TO WISH HER CONTINUED SUCCESS AND HAPPINESS IN ALL HER FUTURE ENDEAVORS.

 

Whereas, the South Carolina House of Representatives has learned that the Reverend Yvonne B. Simmons Gregg, pastor of Greater St. Paul AME Church in Dorchester, will begin a well-deserved retirement in September 2025 after many years of devoted ministerial service; and

 

Whereas, born in Charleston to Charles Bonaparte Sr. and Henrietta Gethers Bonaparte, the young Yvonne graduated with honors from C.A. Brown High School in 1967. She attended Talladega College on a four-year academic scholarship and graduated cum laude with a bachelor's degree in 1971, after which she took up her studies in the field of medical technology and became a registered medical technologist. Following twenty-eight years of service in her field, she retired in 2012 from the Medical University of South Carolina Department of Pathology and Lab Medicine; and

 

Whereas, in further preparation for her ministerial duties, Reverend Gregg earned her master of divinity from Erskine Theological Seminary in 2009; and

 

Whereas, her parents having early instilled in her a love for Christ, a love for learning, and a love of family, Yvonne, in time, entered the ministry. She preached her initial sermon in June 1995, and in September 1999 she was ordained a local elder. In 2012, her status was changed to itinerant elder, and she was appointed to St. Phillip AME Church. While serving at St. Phillip, she worked faithfully in the Edisto District Women in Ministry, actively participating in all activities. In 2014, she became the coordinator of the Edisto District Women in Ministry; and

 

Whereas, among her many honors is Coastal Christian Magazine's article titled "Ministering in the Midst of Tragedy," published in 2016. In 2018, the crowning moment of her ministry came when she was selected to preach the annual sermon of the 153rd Session of the South Carolina Annual Conference. That same year, she became the wife of the Reverend Wayne D. Gregg; and

 

Whereas, after seven years of blessed ministry at St. Phillip, in 2019 Reverend Gregg was appointed to serve at Greater St. Paul AME Church in Dorchester. She was honored in 2020 as a recipient of the Seventh Episcopal District's Women of Distinction Jarena Lee Award; and

 

Whereas, grateful for Reverend Gregg's decades of committed service to God, the South Carolina House takes great pleasure in wishing her well as she enters retirement and trusts she will find much enjoyment in the more leisurely pace of the days ahead. 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 the Reverend Yvonne B. Simmons Gregg, pastor of Greater St. Paul AME Church in Dorchester, upon the occasion of her retirement after many years of exemplary service and wish her continued success and happiness in all her future endeavors.

 

Be it further resolved that a copy of this resolution be presented to the Reverend Yvonne B. Simmons Gregg.

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