Rev Bill Lawson Services

Reverend Bill Lawson’s body will lie in state from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Thursday, May 23, 2024. The Community Service of Celebration will be held at 6:00 p.m. on Thursday, May 23, 2024 and the Congregational Service of Celebration will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Friday, May 24, 2024. Both services will be held at Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church, 3826 Wheeler Avenue, Houston, TX 77004. The Passing of Our Beloved Founding Pastor It is with both inexpressible sorrow and overwhelming gratitude that we announce the passing of our Founding Pastor, Reverend William A. Lawson on May 14, 2024. He has completed his time of service here on earth and is now enjoying eternal rest. In his nearly 96 years, Reverend Lawson has served as husband, father, grandfather, and great grandfather, as well as preacher, professor, and civil rights leader. But whatever title you may have used to describe him, it has been said many times that Reverend Bill Lawson was "Houston’s Pastor." Lawson was born on June 28, 1928 to William Lawson, Sr. and Clarisse Riggs. They divorced when Lawson was just a toddler and he was adopted by his mother’s second husband, Walter Cade. He also gained three siblings, Walter Cade, Jr., Catherine, and Joe Williams. In 1955, he moved to Houston with his beloved late wife, Audrey, and one young daughter, Melanie. He was to serve as Director of the Baptist Student Union at Texas Southern University. Just a few years later, in 1962, he founded Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church, where he served as pastor for 42 years. Upon his retirement in 2004 the congregation conferred upon him the title and honor of Founding Pastor Emeritus for his stellar years of service and leadership. Beyond the walls of Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church, Lawson has helped change the face of Houston, by leading the battle to desegregate the city. He joined the national civil rights movement led by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. by setting up a local office of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). Dr. King remained a close friend of Lawson’s, until his untimely death. He was part of a powerful trio of religious leaders, including the late Rabbi Samuel Karff and the late Archbishop Joseph Fiorenza, who were dubbed the Three Amigos. They tackled many of the city’s major issues including the homelessness, racism and inequality, even the creation of a public defender’s office, among so many other efforts on behalf of the poor and disenfranchised. Lawson, in particular, was known to help build bridges between the powerful and the powerless, as a champion of social justice and community service. We are so grateful to God for the life and legacy of Bill Lawson, and we ask for your prayers for his family, including three surviving daughters, Melanie, Cheryl and Roxanne, his granddaughters Robyn and Raven; his two great grandsons, Amadeus and Ronin, his extended family, and the entirety of his beloved Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church. Special word of thanks to the current pastor, Dr. Marcus D. Cosby and his ministerial staff.