Dr. James Washington Obituary

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Celebration of Life for Dr./Pastor James A. Washington

Dr. James A. Washington

Obituary

   Dr. James A. Washington was born the fourth of five sons into a Christian home on September 9, 1932 in Marion, South Carolina, to the union of Mr. & Mrs. John & Nancy (Glover) Washington. His father was a freeborn Black American who was of Native and African American decent while Nancy Glover Washington was of the Gullah Geechee people of South Carolina. The family became Adventist when John Washington, who at the time was a Methodist Minister, converted to Adventism during a tent crusade held by Elder B. W. Abney in Marion, South Carolina.

    The Washington family migrated north to Coatesville, Pennsylvania, where James, educated in the public schools, graduated with honors. Rejecting a scholarship to attend a public college, James chose to attend Oakwood College graduating in 1954 with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Religion and with a minor in Business Administration. James furthered his education by attending the adventist theological seminary earning a Master’s degree in Practical Theology in 1956 and later in his career he earned a Doctor of Ministry from Trinity Theological Seminary in 1986.

   While attending Oakwood College James had his eyes on a beautiful young lady named Sarah Costen, from Cheshire, Connecticut who later became his sweetheart and they later married on January 1, 1956, with their marriage lasting over 66 years. To their union were born three daughters, Costena, Sarah and Nancy.

   James gave his heart to the Lord at a young age and decided to become a minister of the gospel with the Lord blessing his ministry service spanning from the 1950’s continuing past 2009. God endowed him with the gifts of church administration, church and school planting, church renovation and construction, administrative facility management and most importantly a heart for evangelism.

   His service began in 1950 as a literature evangelist and pastoring in the Atlantic City, New Jersey, Whitesboro District in the Allegheny Conference region. His pastoral service continued in 1956 at the Akron-Canton, Ohio District where he was interim pastor of the Youngstown-Titusville District in Ohio. His ordination occurred in 1960 while he was serving in the Roanoke Danville, Virginia District from about 1959 to 1963. The Columbus Ephesus Church in Ohio called him to pastor in 1963 where he constructed a new church school, organized the Columbus Hilltop Church, and also led the Delaware, Ohio congregation. In 1969 he was called to pastor the Cincinnati Shiloh Church and a second congregation was established under his leadership. The Allegheny West Conference called him to be the secretary treasurer in 1971 until 1979. Then, he accepted a call to return to pastoring and moved to Sacramento, California where he pastored the Capitol City SDA church. In 1986 he became the Black Ministries Director and departmental director for Inner-City and Prison Ministries for the Northern California Conference of SDA. Fulfilling his lifelong commitment to God to serve as a missionary, he accepted a call from 1987 to 1991 with his wife to Nairobi, Kenya as Treasurer of the East African Union with a membership of over 300,000 people. In Kenya, his ministry was blessed as he supervised the renovation of the old Maxwell School, renovated the Union office into 26 modern offices, directed finances for 39 clinics, one hospital, two colleges, and five conferences. Evangelism was his passion and he conducted a major evangelism campaign Nairobi where 67 were baptized in the first baptism with a total of 600 decisions for Christ from his evangelism over a period of four years. Returning to the states in 1991, he was called to pastor the Beacon Light Church in Phoenix, Arizona. Later he established a congregation for about ten years in Eloy, AZ over which the conference later took administration. His early retirement years were spent pastoring the Maryvale church and for several years and auditing churches for the Arizona conference using his financial expertise. God blessings to Elder Washington’s ministry and vision are too numerous to mention.

   James Washington was a lifelong learner and he enjoyed Bible study, hiking, Christian music, gardening, and traveling around the country and world. He valued God, family and Christian education and he supported his daughters in SDA schools and colleges from primary school through college. He was a man of integrity and the husband of a happy wife and a wonderful family man and great provider. His daughters loved spending time with him even in their adulthood enjoyed vacationing with him and their mother on trips. His greatest achievement is leading all family members into a relationship with Jesus. He leaves his legacy that of instilling in his children the value of having a relationship with the Lord and each other and expanding their minds through education.

   Thank God for the resurrection as he leaves behind a host of family and friends who look forward to the resurrection day when he will be raised from the sleep of death to be reunited with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and loved ones at the Second Coming of our Lord. He is predeceased by his parents John and Nancy Washington; brothers, Thomas, Moses and John Washington; grandson Javier Velazquez and leaves to morn his wife of 66 years, Sarah (Costen) Washington; daughters Costena Washington-Parks, Sarah Boger (Anthony), Nancy Irby (Carl); grandsons, James Parks, Trustin Irby, Gabriel Irby (Ashley); a brother Dr. Calvin Washington (Elaine); sister-in-law Elma Davis (Frank).

In his own words, “I am ordinary man with an extraordinary burden to stay on the cutting edge and be the best possible human instrument that God could use on this earth to prepare men, women, boys and girls for eternal life.”

TO GOD BE THE GLORY; GREAT THINGS HE HAS DONE!