MEMPHIS — A beloved Memphis pastor and youth advocate was killed in a car accident Saturday, said Bishop Emeritus Henry Williamson Sr. of the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church.
The Rev. Willie Boyd Jr., pastor of Greenwood CME Church, left behind three children and his wife, who were not in the car at the time of the accident, Williamson said.
“We miss him like a son or a brother,” Williamson said. “That’s how people thought about him. A son or a brother. He’s irreplaceable.”
Boyd, 44, was a native Memphian, attending White Station High School, LeMoyne-Owen College and Bethel College in McKenzie, according to an archived biography listed on his church’s website. He would later attend Grand Canyon University, receiving a Master of Education with a concentration in special education, and Memphis Theological Seminary.
Before his death Saturday, Boyd posted on his Facebook that it was his “birthday weekend.”
While a college student, Boyd served as youth pastor at his home church, Mt. Pisgah CME Church, and in 2003 was ordained a deacon and assigned to pastor Morris Chapel C.M.E. Church. In 2004, he was ordained an elder.
Boyd would later pastor the historic Martin Memorial Temple CME Church, also spending part of 2015-2016 assigned to a role in California.
Williamson named Boyd pastor of Greenwood CME about two years ago, Williamson said.
“We needed his skills and abilities to handle a major charge and a great congregation,” Williamson said. “And the people of his church both at Martin and at Greenwood loved him tremendously. He was a master pastor and administrator in the life of the church.”
Boyd “never met a stranger,” Williamson said, working well with people of all ages. He was “powerful in the pulpit,” a great singer and someone who “loved God and loved people.”
“Not only did he have a powerful influence as a pastor bringing people into the church and knowledge of Jesus Christ, but he worked with juveniles who had some criminal background and element, and he was able to reform them and help them to choose a better lifestyle,” Williamson said. Read more.
Source: Black Christian News