Bishop Walter H. Richardson dies at 100; was longtime pastor of Liberty City church
Bishop Walter Harris Richardson, who for more than a half century shepherded The Church of
God Tabernacle (True Holiness), a thriving center of religious life in Liberty City, has died. He was 100.
Bishop Richardson had served faithfully as the pastor and overseer of the church since 1965, watching the congregation swell from a handful of congregants to about 300. He continued to be a force in the Pentecostal church throughout his life, although most of the duties as a church leader had passed to his longtime friend and assistant pastor, Elder Thomas P. Edwards, in recent years.
“Bishop,” as the congregation and his family lovingly called him, was a preacher’s preacher and a lover of the word of God who loved preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ and reaching out to the downtrodden. Often a typical sermon would start with the bishop belting out a stirring hymn before preaching. He often ended a sermon the same way.
“He was a great leader; always ready to go where he was needed. He often would get in his car in the middle of the night to pray with someone who was ill. I was honored to go along with him on many of those trips,” said Edwards, who had known “Bishop” for more than 70 years. “Another
thing Bishop will be remembered for is his peaceful nature. His favorite saying was, ‘I love peace.’”
Bishop Richardson was passionate about spreading the gospel, and two other churches — The Church of God Tabernacle in Belle Glade, and The Church of God Tabernacle in Valdosta, Georgia — were founded under his leadership during his years in the ministry.
And as a church leader, he was known to have a compassionate heart. He led the church in collecting money, food, and clothes for those who had been victims of disasters in the United States, Africa and the Caribbean region.
“Bishop” was a member of a family that included other prominent church leaders. A church in Vero Beach was established under his late aunt, Evangelist Mamie E. Richardson, who also led The Church of God Tabernacle (True Holiness) in Miami after the death of her husband, Thomas J. Richardson, who had founded the church. And Bishop Richardson had two sons who are pastors: Walter T. and Alfred J. Others members of the bishop’s extended family also hold pastoral roles.
For years, “Bishop” thought he would not live to see his 80th birthday. His father and both his brothers Frank and Amos, all died at 79.