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WHEREAS, Bishop Wade Jones is the Pastor of First Emmanuel Church. Bishop Jones has been the Pastor for the past 50 years and has a profound love for the Lord and the people of God. He believes in preaching and teaching the word of God, and believes that we must "live" the word. Bishop Jones is the eldest child of Wade and Rebecca Jones and was born in Woodward, South Carolina. He moved to the Pittsburgh area during the 1940s. He was drafted in the Korean War and was a demolition expert; and,
WHEREAS, during his courtship with Alta Rae Pratt from 1955 to 1958, Bishop Jones occasionally visited the Pratt household. At this time, Bishop Jones also helped take care of Alta's maternal grandfather. On August 8, 1955, Elder Raymond Pratt passed, but not before giving his blessings to this relationship. In the summer of 1956, Bishop Jones asked for Alta's hand in marriage from Mother Trudy Pratt; and,
WHEREAS, on May 17, 1958, Bishop and First Lady Jones were united in holy matrimony. They were married at Heinz Chapel. Bishop Jones was employed by HJ Heinz for 36 years, in addition to being a full time pastor. Prior to becoming the pastor, he held various positions at the church, which included a custodian, a choir member, and a deacon. Dr. Quander L. Wilson, founder and presiding prelate of the Greater Emmanuel International Churches, appointed Bishop Jones as the Pastor on August 25, 1968 in Portsmouth, Ohio. In 1969, the first mortgage was burned at the 700 Bryn Mawr Road property; and,
WHEREAS, Bishop Jones dreamed of building a new edifice for worship. On September 27, 1981, the church broke ground. On May 8, 1982, the new church was dedicated at its present location, 671 Bryn Mawr Road. The church was blessed to burn their mortgage in 1995. Bishop Jones understood the necessity to work outside the walls of the church. He had a dream to better serve the community. As a result, First Stop Childcare was created in the fellowship hall of the church;...
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