St. Vincent de Paul | Louisville
February 2017
Baptist Pastor Brings Shared Purpose to Role on SVDP Board What’s an African-American, Baptist preacher doing on the board of directors of a lay, Catholic charitable organization? The Rev. Bernard Crayton used to ask himself that very question, he says with a chuckle. Besides being neighbors with St. Vincent de Paul here in the Shelby Park community, the pastor of Little Flock Missionary Baptist Church says we serve a similar purpose, which is to help people. He knows as much because he and his parishioners have been long-time volunteers at SVDP, having served meals for years at the Open Hand Kitchen. Over time, Rev. Crayton has gotten to know Ed Wnorowski, SVDP’s executive director and CEO. “Ed’s a great guy,” Crayton says. “Our sons both went to Murray State, and we discovered we had things in common.”
In his church office, Bibles and reference books line the shelves of the Rev. Bernard Crayton, senior pastor of Little Flock Missionary Baptist Church.
In an effort to bring greater racial diversity and more varied career backgrounds to SVDP’s board of directors, Wnorowski approached Rev. Crayton about joining SVDP’s Board of Directors, which has historically included mostly white men - most of whom were Catholic
Until joining the SVDP board, however, the pastor was unfamiliar with other areas of SVDP’s outreach, including the Family Success Center, recovery services and supportive housing programs. He is learning everything he can about SVDP in an effort to help spread the word about our good work, he said.
“First of all, I was honored,” Crayton says. “But I was a little surprised.” He ultimately accepted, though, because he sees the outreach of both Little Flock and SVDP as closely intertwined. Serving much of the same clientele – the poor in our community – the two organizations are also in close proximity, located within a block of each other.
In addition to our board, Rev. Crayton has also served on the boards of the Louisville Urban League and of Norton Hospital, where he underwent successful treatment for prostate cancer. He has been cancer-free for seven years, he says.
The congregation was founded 150 years ago by freed slaves, who literally picked up the original wood-frame building and relocated it from Old Louisville to its present location. A book documenting Little Flock’s history is being written to coincide with a big anniversary celebration that’s planned for the third weekend in November. Little Flock warmly welcomes SVDP clients at Sunday morning services. In fact, two of the people Rev. Crayton met in our Open Hand Kitchen not only became regular worshippers, he said, but ended up getting married at Little Flock! “It’s really been an eye-opening experience to be on the board,” Rev. Crayton said, “especially when I see the wonderful things you’re doing there. You folks feed a lot of people, and I think it’s serving a great need.”
ABOUT LITTLE FLOCK
Little Flock Missionary Baptist Church 1030 S. Hancock St., Louisville, KY 40203 Worship Services 8 and 11am Sundays
ABOUT REV. CRAYTON
Hometown: Cleveland, OH Career: 20 years in banking (and pastor of a small church) Moved to Louisville: 1999 Family: Father was a pastor Wife: Marcella, school counselor at Eisenhower Elementary Daughter: Ashley, 32, Cornell University and Tennessee State University graduate who now works in supply chain management in Columbus, OH Son: Justin, 26, Trinity High School and Murray State University graduate who works for R.J. Reynolds in Fort Worth, TX