OUR FAMILY PASTOR - REV. WALTER L. HOWARD SR.

Twice in his life, Walter L. Howard Sr. felt the touch of the Lord.

The first time was in 1938. He was 14 years old and was attending a revival conducted by Elder Charlie Walker at the Caniff Street Church of God in Christ in Detroit.

“I accepted Jesus Christ as my personal savior and was filled with the Holy Ghost,” he recalled.

The same strong feelings came over him in 1953, at age 29, during a revival conducted by national evangelist Elder Johnny Mills at Jones Temple Church of God in Christ.

“Upon hearing the gospel and the call to service for the Lord,” he said, “I was convicted and yielded to a latent call to the ministry.”

For some time before he experienced the call, Rev. Howard said, he had been troubled with a fullness in his chest that was choking the life out of him.

“I had gone to hospitals and doctors to determine what was wrong, and nothing could be found,” he said. “But when I accepted my call from God to serve him in preaching the gospel, that fullness in my chest dissipated and has never returned.”

For nine months, Rev. Howard held services jointly with a fellow minister before establishing a house of God. He opened his own church at 7501 W. Chicago Blvd. in Detroit.

Rev. Howard asked God for a name for the church and the words “New Canaan” were revealed. The first service at New Canaan Church of God in Christ was held on March 19, 1967. The official opening service – with Bishop William Rimson as guest speaker – was held on April 23, 1967.

On April 28, 1968, a dedication service was held. Bishop. J.S. Bailey, general board member of the Church of God in Christ International, was guest speaker. The church held its mortgage-burning service on Jan. 27, 1974.

Walter L. Howard Sr. was born in January 1924 to Charlena and Guss Howard in Detroit. As a young boy, he loved to read and would spend many hours after school in the public library. He has always been ambitious and went job-hunting at an early age.

He completed high school and in 1944 joined the Navy. He studied at Wayne State University in Detroit and Hampton Institute in Hampton, VA.

Rev. Howard has always been active in the church. After joining Caniff Street Church, where Elder Abraham Walker was pastor, he served as a junior trustee and junior deacon. He sang in the choir and was a janitor in the church.

He later joined Jones Temple Church of God in Christ, serving as trustee and a member of the choir. He served as associate minister at Jones Temple until he was led by the Lord to assist Rev. Walker, who was ill, at Caniff Street. He was appointed assistant pastor and served the church during the long confinement of its pastor.

Rev. Howard opened two grocery stores and attained some success. He was in several positions in the Church of God in Christ, both locally and nationally, including co-chairman of the 50^th Year Jubilee of the Michigan COGIC, secretary for eight years on the National Rules Committee and district superintendent of the Great Lakes Jurisdiction of the Michigan COGIC.

He also has been a member of the advisory board of Wayne County Community College and a member of the Michigan Department of Corrections’ Community-Based Corrections Program.

As part of his ministry, Rev. Howard writes a monthly meditation. One that he especially likes is called “Other Shoes.”

“We simply do not want to feel what the other person feels,” he writes. “The truth is that we need to put ourselves in the other person’s ‘shoes.’ We need to try to feel the sorrow, the pain, the aggravation, the discouragement and disappointment of others.

“… What it boils down to is that we need one big ‘Shoe Exchange,’ that is to put ourselves in the position of those around us. The Apostle Paul teaches that we ought to do it ‘considering thyself,’ lest we be in a similar position and we desire understanding and support of others. Remember, Jesus said, ‘Love ye one another.’”