After more than four decades of Christian and community service, Bishop L. Daniel Williams will retire as pastor of The Baptist Church of the New Covenant in Norwalk.
A celebration service honoring his 44 years in the ministry is set for Sunday, October 16, 7 p.m., at Citizens of Zion Baptist Church, 12930 S. Lime Avenue in Compton. The theme is “Forgetting Not Your Service of Love.”
Bishop Rudolph W. McKissick, Sr., pastor of Bethel Baptist Institutional Church in Jacksonville, FL, and Williams’ father in the ministry, will deliver the keynote message.
Over the years, Williams has been actively involved in both the faith and civic communities. He learned much from Dr. Thomas Kilgore, Pastor E.V. Hill, Sr., and the Rev. Dr. Cecil ‘Chip’ Murray. Also, he worked closely with Bill and Hillary Clinton, strategized with the Rev. Jesse Jackson, and collaborated with U.S. Congresswoman Maxine Waters.
Reflecting on his career in a 2013 Sentinel interview, he shared, “My ministry is so much about learning from Jesus. He had this kind of holistic ministry, about things that affected people. That has been a good approach for me. If He was doing it, I do it to the greatest degree I can do.”
Bishop Williams also served nine years as president of the Baptist Ministers Conference of Southern California (BMC) where the organization often addressed social issues affecting disadvantaged people.
“I’ve always been community-minded. I came up working with the NAACP and expanded my activities beyond the church walls,” he said.
Williams shared his time and talents with several organizations serving as president of the Progressive Baptist State Convention from 1995 to 1999, and in the same capacity heading the Minister’s Conference of the Providence District Association. In addition, he was a Congress Teacher for the Progressive National Convention, Inc., and the Metropolitan Missionary Baptist Church Association.
“Bishop Williams has served his church, his community, his state and nation well and as this chapter of his life comes to an end – we are forgetting not his service of love,” said Brenda Dodd, chairperson of the retirement celebration.
The public is invited to attend the service. For information, call Sister Dodd at (310) 413-0664.