Family, friends, the Episcopal Diocese of Central Florida and the Orlando community at large celebrated the life of nationally known civil rights leader, community activist, church and denominational leader The Rev. Canon Dr. Nelson Wardell Pinder this past weekend in services at the Episcopal Church of St. John the Baptist, Orlando, and the Cathedral Church of St. Luke, Orlando. Pinder died at his Orlando home on Sunday, July 10, just over two weeks short of his 90th birthday.
Litany for the Dead and Remembrances
On Friday, July 22, Pinder’s body lay in state at St. John the Baptist from 12 p.m.-6 p.m., with Litany for the Dead and Remembrances beginning at 4 p.m., presided over by the church’s rector, The Rev. Charles T. Myers. “Father Nelson Pinder, your priest and friend” became the unofficial theme of the time of remembrance, with representatives from Pinder’s family, friends, religion, government and education sharing their fond memories.
The Rev. Canon Dr. Nelson Wardell Pinder
Dr. Lawrence Drake II, interim president of Bethune-Cookman University, Pinder’s alma mater, read a resolution of remembrance from the school, and other declarations and resolutions were publicly received from the school board of Orange County Public Schools; State Rep. Geraldine Thompson from the Florida House of Representatives; Washington Shores Presbyterian Church; Orange County Government of Florida; the Order of the Daughters of the King; St. Augustine University, Raleigh, North Carolina; the Central Florida branch of the Association for the Study of African American Life and History; City of Orlando Commissioner Regina Hill’s office; Mayor’s Office, City of Orlando and Mount Zion Baptist Church.
Celebration of Life
On Saturday, July 23, at 11 a.m., The Very Rev. Dr. Reggie M. Kidd presided and The Rev. Canon Ronald N. Fox preached at a Celebration of Life With Holy Eucharist honoring Pinder, known as “the street priest” and described by The Rt. Rev. Gregory O. Brewer, bishop of the Diocese of Central Florida, as “an embodied legacy.” More than 50 clergy members processed as the Rite II service for the Burial of the Dead, with additional music largely chosen by Pinder himself, began. Dr. Carl MaultsBy, director of music and organist at St. Richard’s, Winter Park, played piano and organ, with vocal solos by Dr. Karen Adderly-Clark and additional music by a vocal quartet featuring Clark, Celia Benton, Ernest Boyd and Morris Hudson.
Nelson W. Pinder II spoke with love and respect for his father, thanking the many involved in his care over the past few years. He urged those present, “Please get involved to make this society a better place; stop standing on the sidelines and get involved. That would be the best gift you could give this civil rights trailblazer.” Thanking the entire community for its love and support, he closed with words he said his father would say if he were there: “If you have not already done so, make God the No. 1 priority in your life, for tomorrow is not promised to any of us.”
Nelson W. Pinder II and Crystal Priester at the Cathedral Church of St. Luke, Orlando, during The Rev. Canon Dr. Nelson W. Pinder’s celebration of life on July 23, 2022.
Crystal Priester, Pinder’s granddaughter, also spoke, listing four lessons and values her grandfather impressed on her as essential: a love of God and spirituality, particularly of building a personal relationship with God; dedication to church and to family; the importance of living and enjoying life to the fullest; and perspective, taking joy in the fact that Pinder is no longer suffering and those who know God will see him again.
“I’d like to challenge you to think about how Nelson has impacted your life,” said Fox, Pinder’s longtime friend, in the prelude to his sermon. “Think about that. Think about that if it had not been for Nelson, we probably would not have been here this morning. We’d still be segregated in our own places.”
“Nelson Wardell Pinder was a man sent from God. … And throughout his life, God’s light shined brightly in him and through him,” Fox said. “The God in him saw the God in others … this fact guided his life.”
Fox recalled both significant and amusing incidents from Pinder’s life, noting that he sought Pinder’s counsel while involved in civil rights protests in Volusia County that drew angry phone calls and threats. “Ron, just take Christ with you,” Pinder told him. “You’ll be all right.”
As a part of the service, The Rev. Canon Scott Holcombe read a citation from Brewer, who was in Great Britain attending the Lambeth Conference of bishops:
Greetings from Bishop Brewer to the dear family and friends of Father Nelson Pinder. It is with great sadness that I grieve with all of you the loss of The Rev. Nelson Pinder, such a giant of a man, not a fearsome giant, but one with the courage of his convictions, and a gentle heart. We’re all missing this larger-than-life brother in Christ. His passing has left us stunned, yet humbled and enriched by the time we had with him. Truly, he was a man of God.
I came into the Diocese of Central Florida in the summer of 1976 and soon met Canon Pinder. We had been assigned to serve on a committee together under the direction of Bill Falwell, the bishop at that time. I don’t mind telling you, young man that I was, I was intimidated by his presence. But he did all that he could to set me at ease. He told jokes easily and often. I knew I was in the presence of someone who was not only formidable, but kind.
Nelson always told the truth. And even when he was speaking hard things, he did it with a smile. You could take tough words from him because you knew that he cared about you. Love flowed through him, even when he was being stirred, and he loved lavishly and laughed often. And there was always that delightful twinkle in his eye.
The only reason my wife, Laura Lee, and I are not with you in person today is because Marian specifically said, “Nelson and I want you to still go to England to participate in the Lambeth Conference.” So we are away by Marian’s direction. But I promise you, we are eagerly watching this celebration online.
Others will speak of his accomplishments, which were historic, especially for civil rights in the city of Orlando. But today I want to give thanks for someone whose counsel I sought as a priest. I give thanks for someone who supported me unwaveringly as a bishop. I give thanks for someone whose heart was big enough to include everybody. I give thanks for a fellow servant of God. To God be the glory, great things he has done.
With love and gratitude,
Gregory O. Brewer, fourth bishop of Central Florida
Next came a citation read by Canon to the Presiding Bishop Chuck Robertson on behalf of The Most Rev. Michael Curry, presiding bishop of The Episcopal Church, who was also on his way to Lambeth. Robertson said Curry “wrote these words and asked me to pass them on to you, the family and to all these dear friends”:
To the family and friends of Father Nelson Pinder and to the bishop, clergy and people of the Episcopal Diocese of Central Florida,
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. My prayers and the prayers of Episcopalians throughout the church are with you today as you mourn the passing and celebrate the remarkable life of Father Nelson Pinder. He was a blessing and a guiding light to so many of us throughout the Orlando community and The Episcopal Church.
I’ve known Father Nelson since I was a small child; he was a colleague and friend of my father. When I was first ordained as a young priest, he took me under his wing, and like many others, I have been there ever since. He will always be one of my mentors, as a Christian and as a human being.
He represented the best of what it means to follow the teachings in the way of Jesus of Nazareth: the best of being a husband, a father, a friend, a pastor, a child of God. Following Jesus, who identified his ministry with the words of the Hebrew prophet Isaiah, Father Pinder believed and lived these words as well: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
I pray that each and every one of you in the Diocese of Central Florida may continue, through word and action, to live out the transformative, selfless way of love to which Jesus of Nazareth calls us and that Father Nelson Pinder exemplified in his own life and ministry. May the soul of Nelson and the souls of all the departed through the mercies of God rest in peace and rise in glory. I remain,
Your brother in Christ,
The Most Rev. Michael B. Curry, presiding bishop and primate of The Episcopal Church
Kidd then invited those believers present to receive the Eucharist, noting that Pinder has now joined the company of those worshipping in heaven and that the celebration of the Eucharist points toward the marriage supper of the Lamb. The Rite II service concluded with the hymn, “Now Thank We All Our God.”
Pinder’s Legacy
Born in Miami, Florida, on July 27, 1932, Pinder graduated from Bethune-Cookman College in 1956 and from Nashotah House Theological Seminary in 1959, when he came to Orlando to serve at St. John the Baptist in the Washington Shores neighborhood. He also earned an M. Ed, Adult Education, in program planning and administration at Florida A & M University in 1974 and two Doctor of Divinity Degrees: one from Nashotah House in 2004 and another from Virginia Theological Seminary in 2010.
Ordained as a deacon in 1959 and as a priest in 1960 in the Diocese of South Florida, he began as vicar and became St. John the Baptist’s first full-time rector, serving there for more than 35 years before being named rector emeritus, a position he held until his death.
Pinder’s first encounter with racism in Florida took place at the Orlando airport, where he was denied both a cup of coffee and a taxi ride to his church. He brought with him to Orlando not only his vibrant relationship with Christ but his experience serving in peaceful marches, sit-ins and strikes in such northern cities as Milwaukee, New York, Detroit and Chicago. He believed his calling was to “make no peace with oppression.”
Pinder had a powerful influence on the lives of a group of Black teens, known as “Pinder’s kids,” whom he mentored in the ways of nonviolent resistance. Pinder organized these teens to participate in sit-ins to challenge racial injustice and led other efforts for integration, voting rights and equal pay for Black teachers. The Rev. Canon Nelson W. Pinder Civil Rights Monument, otherwise known as the Pinder’s Kids Civil Rights Monument, in the Parramore Heritage Park, Orlando, erected in 2010 and relocated/rededicated in 2018, honors his groundbreaking civil rights work with teens.
Pinder also became known for working with representatives from other races to preserve peace and avoid compromising Orlando’s tourist economy, on which many families of various races depended. Over the years, he took on many additional leadership roles in his community and in The Episcopal Church; he received more than 150 awards including four honorary degrees and taught as an adjunct professor at Rollins College as well as a visiting professor at Bethune-Cookman, Florida Technological University and Stetson University. He was named an honorary canon in the Diocese of Central Florida in 1970.
(L-R) The Most Rev. Michael B. Curry, The Rev. Canon Nelson W. Pinder, The Rt. Rev. Gregory O. Brewer, The Rt. Rev. William J. Skilton and The Rt. Rev. Lloyd E. Allen on Jan. 4, 2020, during the celebration of Pinder’s 60 years of ministry
On Jan. 4, 2020, a celebration of Pinder’s 60 years of ministry was held at the Cathedral Church of St. Luke, Orlando, with The Most. Rev. Michael B. Curry, presiding bishop and prelate of The Episcopal Church, preaching and celebrating Eucharist. In 2021, the Central Florida Chapter of the Union of Black Episcopalians was renamed in Pinder’s honor.
Pinder is survived by his wife of 62 years, Marian; his son, Nelson II; five grandchildren and two great-grandchildren, along with a host of friends whom he counted as family. He was predeceased by his daughter, Gail.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be directed to the following: Nelson Pinder Chapter of the Union of Black Episcopalians, P.O. Box 617497, Orlando, FL 32861, Memo: In Memory of The Rev. Canon Nelson Pinder; Bethune-Cookman University Office of Institutional Advancement, Attn.: Sherry Paramore, 640 Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune Boulevard, Daytona Beach, FL 32114, Memo: Fr. Nelson Pinder Endowed Scholarship Fund.
Notes of condolence may be sent to Fr. Pinder’s wife of 62 years, Marian, and their family c/o Diocese of Central Florida, 1017 E. Robinson Street, Orlando, FL 32801.