Submitted by Fran Olson Gustafson 1965 <fgustafson917@gmail.com>
on 01/Nov/2023
71.223.71.105
Lewis Stewart - Class of 1966 - The Reverend Lewis W.
Stewart, Jr. was born in Newburgh, New York to the late
Bishop Lewis W. Stewart, Sr. and the late Carrie
Stultz-Williams Stewart. He earned an AAS degree from Orange
County Community College. He then transferred to the State
University College at Brockport in 1969, graduating with a
Bachelor of Science degree in Political Science and History.
He received the Master of Divinity Degree from Colgate
Rochester/Bexley Hall/Crozer Theological Seminary. He then
studied at Syracuse University School of Social Work. Rev.
Stewart was called to the ministry at the age of 17. He was
ordained as an Elder in the Churches of God In Christ in
June of 1972 in New York City. He is also an ordained
Baptist Minister. He served as Associate Minister at Second
Baptist Church in Mumford, New York under the leadership of
Dr. Charles Thurman, and at Christian Friendship Missionary
Baptist Church under the leadership of Dr. John S. Walker.
He is presently the Pastor of Christian Community Church.
While a student at Orange County Community College, he
strongly advocated for a Black Studies Department which was
created a year later. At the State University College at
Brockport, he wrote the Constitution for the Black Student
Liberation Front. He organized protests against racism and
the war in Vietnam. He also campaigned for the position of
Student Government President and was elected to that
position. Rev. Stewart was a board member of United Church
Ministries, Inc. and served as the Coordinator and Organizer
of the Black Family Life Conferences 1 and 2 in 1976 and
1977. He was a coordinator for the Rochester Black Political
Convention in 1978 and the Coordinator and Organizer for the
Black-Hispanic Political Conference in Newburgh, New York.
He was a delegate to the National Black Political Convention
in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1974, and a delegate to the New
York State Black Political Assembly in 1975. He was a
contributing essayist for About Time Magazine which was
owned by publishers Jim and Carolyn Blount. He was host of
RISE television program in the early 90's. He was a founder
and President of the Congress of African American Unity and
served as the Coordinator of the United Church Ministry's
United People's Coalition which advocated for a revamped
Civilian Review Board. In 1998, he campaigned for the New
York State Senate. From 1988 - 1992, Rev. Stewart was the
Pastor and Protestant Chaplain for the New York State
Department of Corrections at Groveland Correctional
Facility, and from 2000 - 2009, he was the Pastor and
Protestant Chaplain at Five Points Correctional Facility, a
maximum-security prison in Romulus, New York. As Chaplain,
he fought for prison reform and advocated on behalf of
inmates. His ministry in prison was powerful, dramatic, and
inspiring. Rev. Stewart had the largest attended worship
service in Five Points, and he stopped a riot because some
of the correction officers wanted to arrest him but the men
who attended his services almost resorted to violence in
defending their Pastor. Rev. Stewart saw himself above all
else as a Pastor. In August 2013, he co-founded and
co-organized with a group of pastors the United Christian
Leadership Ministry of Western, New York, Inc. (UCLM) and
was elected the organization's president. He advocated on
behalf of Brenda Hardaway when no one else spoke up on her
behalf, Rickey Bryant and Chris Pate and others. Prior to
the rebellion in Ferguson, Rev. Stewart advocated for the
use of Body Worn Cameras (BWC) to aid in improving
Community-Police Relations. He also served as Co-chair of
the Rochester Coalition for Police Reform and the Police
Accountability Board Organizing Committee. In these
capacities, he and other team members researched, developed,
and drafted policies for the Body Worn Camera program.
Presently, some of the policies became part of the Rochester
Police Department Policy Manual. UCLM and the Rochester
Coalition for Police Reform are still engaged in advocating
for stronger policies. In November of 2017, Mayor Lovely
Warren and Rev. Stewart signed a Memorandum of Understanding
creating the Community Justice Advisory Board. The purpose
is to monitor the utilization of BWCs and make
recommendations. UCLM and members of the Coalition also
researched models for an independent Police Accountability
Board (PAB). Rev. Stewart participated in the City Council's
Public Safety Committee to revise the PAB draft proposal.
Rev. Stewart has taken a public stand against gun violence.
He has lost several family members due to gun violence. In
2014, he organized a "Black Church Summit on Youth, Guns and
Violence." He has engaged with Lentory Johnson and Min.
Kenneth Muhammad of Muhammad's Mosque to raise community
awareness on gun violence and the trauma impacting families.
Along with Mrs. Johnson, Min. Muhammad, and Mrs. Hayes, they
organized UCLM's Light the Way Gun Violence Prevention
Awareness Initiative, a curriculum to be used in after
school programs at the City's recreation centers. UCLM is
still looking for volunteers. Moreover, he also initiated
projects such as Community Healers, Adopt-A-Block
Initiative, and the Partnership in Excellence: Achieving
Careers and Education in partnership with BOCES where adults
over the age of 21 study to obtain their GED's. Rev. Stewart
has advocated for OACES which was defunded $500,000 in the
Rochester City School District. He organized a press
conference and a series of meetings with stakeholders
including the Superintendent of RCSD. The funding was
restored. OACES is an invaluable and needful asset to the
community. Presently, Rev. Stewart is Chairman of the OACES
Institutional Advisory Board. In the summer of 2016, Rev.
Stewart called for a Police-Community Summit to address
issues of harassment and excessive force by law enforcement
against people of color. To date, there have been five
successful summits. Former Chief Mark Henderson of the
Brighton Police Department and at that time Chair of the
Monroe County Law Enforcement Council came together with
former Chiefs Richard Tantalo of Irondequoit and Pat Phelan
of Greece, former Chief Ciminelli of RPD and others to
dialogue and to build trust and legitimacy. Rev. Stewart,
community activists and law enforcement executives still
meet to explore strategies to improve Community Police
relations. Rev. Stewart opposes the call for "defunding" and
"abolishment" of police agencies especially considering the
high incidents of gun violence. If any group needs police
patrols and protection it is poor communities of color. Rev.
Stewart supports the reallocation of resources for improved
training of police to establish a non-racist police force
rooted in transformation of culture, policies, procedures
and training. He believes that police need to be
Servant-Protectors and neither "Warriors" nor "Occupiers."
Rev. Stewart supports former Gov. Andrew Cuomo's Executive
Order 203 regarding reimagining policing. To this end, the
United Christian Leadership Ministry has proposed several
changes: A Civilian Review Panel where citizens can
participate and have real power in the hiring of candidates
for the police force. Community Safety Corp which will
serve as a supplement to law enforcement in which citizens
will be trained and participate in providing public safety
to their community. Racial Justice and Anti-Racism Training
and Education for all law enforcement agencies. Encourage
that all police officers engage in mental health follow-up
and review annually. Advocate and push for all police
agencies to have body worn camera programs including the
Greece Police Department and the New York State Police. Rev.
Stewart and UCLM signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)
with Sheriff Todd Baxter of the Monroe County Sheriff's
Office to establish quarterly meetings to review the
Sheriff's Body Worn Camera Program. Rev. Stewart battled
cancer from 2009 through 2012. He had a 20% chance of living
after 5 years. The Lord preserved his life. He is a cancer
survivor. Rev. Stewart does not designate himself as a
"community activist," but rather a "Liberationist." He
believes in the prophetic calling for social justice and
that the Gospel delivers the whole person and society. He is
committed to the systemic transformation of the community
and nation, and the eradication of social, economic, and
racial inequities. In effect, he is a disciple of Jesus the
Liberator. As a young man, Rev. Stewart wrestled, boxed, and
was a former student of both Taekwondo and Jeet Kune Do
which he studied for several years. He is an avid reader in
history, biography, literature, philosophy, theology,
archaeology, astronomy, and space exploration, science
fiction and fantasy. His greatest enjoyment is studying and
reflecting on the sacred word of God as manifested in the
Bible. He regards the scriptures as his map through life. He
is an enthusiastic board and computer gamer, engages in
writing fiction and non-fiction. He also studies dreams and
practices meditation. Rev. Stewart is a board member of the
Greater Rochester Community of Churches, Co-Chair of the
Rochester Coalition for Police Reform, served as a member of
the Mayor's Judicial Screening Committee. He is the current
President of UCLM. Rev. Stewart has a strong support in his
wife, family, and friends for which he is very grateful. To
send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of
Reverend Lewis, please visit our floral store. To plant
trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.
Lewis Stewart - Class of 1966 - The Reverend Lewis W.
Stewart, Jr. was born in Newburgh, New York to the late
Bishop Lewis W. Stewart, Sr. and the late Carrie
Stultz-Williams Stewart. He earned an AAS degree from Orange
County Community College. He then transferred to the State
University College at Brockport in 1969, graduating with a
Bachelor of Science degree in Political Science and History.
He received the Master of Divinity Degree from Colgate
Rochester/Bexley Hall/Crozer Theological Seminary. He then
studied at Syracuse University School of Social Work. Rev.
Stewart was called to the ministry at the age of 17. He was
ordained as an Elder in the Churches of God In Christ in
June of 1972 in New York City. He is also an ordained
Baptist Minister. He served as Associate Minister at Second
Baptist Church in Mumford, New York under the leadership of
Dr. Charles Thurman, and at Christian Friendship Missionary
Baptist Church under the leadership of Dr. John S. Walker.
He is presently the Pastor of Christian Community Church.
While a student at Orange County Community College, he
strongly advocated for a Black Studies Department which was
created a year later. At the State University College at
Brockport, he wrote the Constitution for the Black Student
Liberation Front. He organized protests against racism and
the war in Vietnam. He also campaigned for the position of
Student Government President and was elected to that
position. Rev. Stewart was a board member of United Church
Ministries, Inc. and served as the Coordinator and Organizer
of the Black Family Life Conferences 1 and 2 in 1976 and
1977. He was a coordinator for the Rochester Black Political
Convention in 1978 and the Coordinator and Organizer for the
Black-Hispanic Political Conference in Newburgh, New York.
He was a delegate to the National Black Political Convention
in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1974, and a delegate to the New
York State Black Political Assembly in 1975. He was a
contributing essayist for About Time Magazine which was
owned by publishers Jim and Carolyn Blount. He was host of
RISE television program in the early 90's. He was a founder
and President of the Congress of African American Unity and
served as the Coordinator of the United Church Ministry's
United People's Coalition which advocated for a revamped
Civilian Review Board. In 1998, he campaigned for the New
York State Senate. From 1988 - 1992, Rev. Stewart was the
Pastor and Protestant Chaplain for the New York State
Department of Corrections at Groveland Correctional
Facility, and from 2000 - 2009, he was the Pastor and
Protestant Chaplain at Five Points Correctional Facility, a
maximum-security prison in Romulus, New York. As Chaplain,
he fought for prison reform and advocated on behalf of
inmates. His ministry in prison was powerful, dramatic, and
inspiring. Rev. Stewart had the largest attended worship
service in Five Points, and he stopped a riot because some
of the correction officers wanted to arrest him but the men
who attended his services almost resorted to violence in
defending their Pastor. Rev. Stewart saw himself above all
else as a Pastor. In August 2013, he co-founded and
co-organized with a group of pastors the United Christian
Leadership Ministry of Western, New York, Inc. (UCLM) and
was elected the organization's president. He advocated on
behalf of Brenda Hardaway when no one else spoke up on her
behalf, Rickey Bryant and Chris Pate and others. Prior to
the rebellion in Ferguson, Rev. Stewart advocated for the
use of Body Worn Cameras (BWC) to aid in improving
Community-Police Relations. He also served as Co-chair of
the Rochester Coalition for Police Reform and the Police
Accountability Board Organizing Committee. In these
capacities, he and other team members researched, developed,
and drafted policies for the Body Worn Camera program.
Presently, some of the policies became part of the Rochester
Police Department Policy Manual. UCLM and the Rochester
Coalition for Police Reform are still engaged in advocating
for stronger policies. In November of 2017, Mayor Lovely
Warren and Rev. Stewart signed a Memorandum of Understanding
creating the Community Justice Advisory Board. The purpose
is to monitor the utilization of BWCs and make
recommendations. UCLM and members of the Coalition also
researched models for an independent Police Accountability
Board (PAB). Rev. Stewart participated in the City Council's
Public Safety Committee to revise the PAB draft proposal.
Rev. Stewart has taken a public stand against gun violence.
He has lost several family members due to gun violence. In
2014, he organized a "Black Church Summit on Youth, Guns and
Violence." He has engaged with Lentory Johnson and Min.
Kenneth Muhammad of Muhammad's Mosque to raise community
awareness on gun violence and the trauma impacting families.
Along with Mrs. Johnson, Min. Muhammad, and Mrs. Hayes, they
organized UCLM's Light the Way Gun Violence Prevention
Awareness Initiative, a curriculum to be used in after
school programs at the City's recreation centers. UCLM is
still looking for volunteers. Moreover, he also initiated
projects such as Community Healers, Adopt-A-Block
Initiative, and the Partnership in Excellence: Achieving
Careers and Education in partnership with BOCES where adults
over the age of 21 study to obtain their GED's. Rev. Stewart
has advocated for OACES which was defunded $500,000 in the
Rochester City School District. He organized a press
conference and a series of meetings with stakeholders
including the Superintendent of RCSD. The funding was
restored. OACES is an invaluable and needful asset to the
community. Presently, Rev. Stewart is Chairman of the OACES
Institutional Advisory Board. In the summer of 2016, Rev.
Stewart called for a Police-Community Summit to address
issues of harassment and excessive force by law enforcement
against people of color. To date, there have been five
successful summits. Former Chief Mark Henderson of the
Brighton Police Department and at that time Chair of the
Monroe County Law Enforcement Council came together with
former Chiefs Richard Tantalo of Irondequoit and Pat Phelan
of Greece, former Chief Ciminelli of RPD and others to
dialogue and to build trust and legitimacy. Rev. Stewart,
community activists and law enforcement executives still
meet to explore strategies to improve Community Police
relations. Rev. Stewart opposes the call for "defunding" and
"abolishment" of police agencies especially considering the
high incidents of gun violence. If any group needs police
patrols and protection it is poor communities of color. Rev.
Stewart supports the reallocation of resources for improved
training of police to establish a non-racist police force
rooted in transformation of culture, policies, procedures
and training. He believes that police need to be
Servant-Protectors and neither "Warriors" nor "Occupiers."
Rev. Stewart supports former Gov. Andrew Cuomo's Executive
Order 203 regarding reimagining policing. To this end, the
United Christian Leadership Ministry has proposed several
changes: A Civilian Review Panel where citizens can
participate and have real power in the hiring of candidates
for the police force. Community Safety Corp which will
serve as a supplement to law enforcement in which citizens
will be trained and participate in providing public safety
to their community. Racial Justice and Anti-Racism Training
and Education for all law enforcement agencies. Encourage
that all police officers engage in mental health follow-up
and review annually. Advocate and push for all police
agencies to have body worn camera programs including the
Greece Police Department and the New York State Police. Rev.
Stewart and UCLM signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)
with Sheriff Todd Baxter of the Monroe County Sheriff's
Office to establish quarterly meetings to review the
Sheriff's Body Worn Camera Program. Rev. Stewart battled
cancer from 2009 through 2012. He had a 20% chance of living
after 5 years. The Lord preserved his life. He is a cancer
survivor. Rev. Stewart does not designate himself as a
"community activist," but rather a "Liberationist." He
believes in the prophetic calling for social justice and
that the Gospel delivers the whole person and society. He is
committed to the systemic transformation of the community
and nation, and the eradication of social, economic, and
racial inequities. In effect, he is a disciple of Jesus the
Liberator. As a young man, Rev. Stewart wrestled, boxed, and
was a former student of both Taekwondo and Jeet Kune Do
which he studied for several years. He is an avid reader in
history, biography, literature, philosophy, theology,
archaeology, astronomy, and space exploration, science
fiction and fantasy. His greatest enjoyment is studying and
reflecting on the sacred word of God as manifested in the
Bible. He regards the scriptures as his map through life. He
is an enthusiastic board and computer gamer, engages in
writing fiction and non-fiction. He also studies dreams and
practices meditation. Rev. Stewart is a board member of the
Greater Rochester Community of Churches, Co-Chair of the
Rochester Coalition for Police Reform, served as a member of
the Mayor's Judicial Screening Committee. He is the current
President of UCLM. Rev. Stewart has a strong support in his
wife, family, and friends for which he is very grateful. To
send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of
Reverend Lewis, please visit our floral store. To plant
trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.