To Bishop Philip R. Cousin, Sr., Presiding Prelate of the Fourth Episcopal District, Dr. M. Joan Cousin, Supervisor of the Fourth Episcopal District, Rev. Clarence G. Robinson, Presiding Elder of the North District, my colleagues, members of Philip R. Cousin A.M.E. Church, family friends, visitors and strangers.

My Sons, Thomas Orlando Ross and Tommy DeWayne Ross join me in extending greetings to you in the matchless name of Jesus the Christ. Before I go any further I must pause and pay tribute to my baby son Timothy Wendell Ross who is in heaven now, (7-11-81 to 1-18-1998) whom I love and miss so very much.

As I go about doing the work that God has assigned to my hands, I always pause and reflect back and think about Timothy and how excited he was to help plant this church. He would go with me from door to door passing out flyers and inviting people to come to Christ and come worship Him with us. He had a heart for the work and he loved the work with a passion. I will always hold his sweet and precious memories warmly in my heart. I know I will see him again one day when I get to heaven.

Welcome to Philip R. Cousin A.M.E. Church located in beautiful downtown Naperville, Illinois. Naperville earns top honors in Money Magazine’s “Best Places to Live” rankings, http://www.naperville.il.us/dynamic_template.cfm?id=766. Naperville is the number one fastest growing city in the nation. Naperville is a great place to live. Philip R. Cousin A.M.E. Church invites you, your family and friends to join us as we Worship and Praise God in our Worship Service Every Sunday Morning at 8:30 am in beautiful downtown Naperville.

Let me give you a brief history on why we are located in Naperville, Illinois. It is not because I read up on Naperville and found out all these great things about the city; but it is because God Himself gave me this vision in a dream very early in the morning of July 12, 2004 between 3:00 and 4:00 am.

In that dream I saw myself looking for an apartment and as I watched myself in the dream, God spoke only two words to me, “Naperville, Naperville”. So I got up and followed God’s call and moved to Naperville that very next Saturday. A long story short, a couple of weeks later the Holy Spirit spoke again to me and raised a question, “Why can’t Philip R. Cousin A.M.E. Church meet in Naperville’s City Hall”. While I was in pursuant of that question, God being my helper, I found our first worship location in the Naperville Public Library located at 2035 S. Naper Blvd. in Naperville.

In Short, I am here in Naperville because God has sent me here. In Exodus 3:14 (NKJV), Then Moses said to God, “Indeed when I come to the children of Israel and say to them, “The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they say to me, ‘What is His name?’ what shall I say to them?” And God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And He said, Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’”

That’s all I know and that’s all I stand on as I serve Him here in Naperville. As I go about doing His work, I simply tell them that God who is the Great I AM has sent me to you. Every thing I have needed, presently need, and will need in the future is all within my reach right here in Naperville. God has sent me to you. So by faith, I’ll serve Him until I die. God bless you! May HIS richest blessings be with you and yours!

Yours in HIS Service, Pastor Barbara A. Ross