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To honor, recognize and celebrate the life of Reverend Dr. Charles E. Booth and extend our sincerest condolences to his family, friends and the Mt. Olivet Baptist Church on the occasion of his passing, Saturday, March 23, 2019.
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WHEREAS, the members of Columbus City Council extend this resolution of expression in honor of the life and service of Reverend Dr. Charles E. Booth who passed away peacefully on Saturday, March 23 2019; and
WHEREAS, Dr. Booth was born to Hazel Willis Booth Sutton and William W. Booth in Baltimore, MD on February 4, 1947; and
WHEREAS, preaching the Gospel was a life calling for Dr. Booth. He was the Senior Pastor at Mt. Olivet Baptist Church for the past 41 years. Dr. Booth has traveled the world preaching and teaching the Gospel. Education was a high priority, particularly Christian education. In 1993 Dr. Booth founded the Mount Olivet Christian Academy, later renamed the Gloria S. Friend Christian Academy in honor of its first administrator, the Academy has established itself as a premier academic institution ; and
WHEREAS, Dr. Booth earned his Bachelor of Arts degree at Howard University and his Master of Divinity degree from Eastern Theological Seminary in Philadelphia, PA. He earned the Doctor of Ministry degree from United Theological Seminary in Dayton, Ohio; and
WHEREAS, Dr. Booth lead his congregation by focusing on providing spiritual nurturing and biblically sound information. “The pulpit is no place for personal opinion” he said to attendees of the African American Leadership Workshop in 2007. “The pulpit is the place for propagation of the Gospel”. During Dr. Booth’s tenure (41 years) Mt. Olivet has seen substantial growth, Mt. Olivet raised $2.1 million to build the 100- seat Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Chapel, an administrative wing. Mt Olivet is now in the planning stages of building an $8 million Family Life Center; and
WHEREAS, Dr. Booth has been listed in Who’s Who Among African Americans and in Ebony magazine’s Honor Roll of Preachers. He received the 1999 James E. Stamps Alumni Recognition Award for outstanding contributions to young people attending historically black colleges and universities ; the 1999 Alpha Phi Alpha and Alpha Lambda Rho Chapter’s Vertner Woodson Tandy Award for dedicated community service, The Columbus Ohio Foundation Association awarded the 2014 Martin Luther King Jr. Humanitarian Award to Dr. Booth for his documented commitment to local and global communities around the issues of unemployment, homelessness, education and health; and
WHEREAS, Reverend Dr. Charles E. Booth will be missed - he was preceded in death by his beloved mother, Hazel Willis Booth Sutton and father William W. Booth - left to cherish his memory, wife Crystal Washington Booth; daughter, Kennedy Price; sisters, Sandra (William Sr.) Baptist and Abigail Booth (Glenn) Birke; nieces and nephew, Kia Baptist, Kelli Baptist and William Baptist Jr.; Aunt Velma Green; Mother in law, Pearl Washington and a host of cousins and godchildren; now therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF COLUMBUS: That this Council does hereby honor, recognize and celebrate the life of Reverend Dr. Charles E. Booth and extend our sincerest condolences to his family, friends and Mt. Olivet Church on the occasion of his passing, Saturday, March 23, 2019.