​Earl: Rev. Louis Sanders Has Served Us Well

From Rockland County Legislature: St. Charles AME Zion Church Pastor Thanked For Three-Plus Decades Of Activism & Accomplished Service To Others

New City, NY (June 22, 2017) – Reverend Louis Sanders, who has served as pastor of the St. Charles AME Zion Church in Sparkill for 36 years, was honored Tuesday during a ceremony led by Rockland County Legislature Chairman Toney L. Earl.

“It is my sincerest privilege to recognize Rev. Sanders for all he has done for people – the people of Rockland County, the people of Mississippi, the people of Ghana,” Chairman Earl said. “Rev. Sanders has spent most of his life caring about others, guided by his deep faith and strong work ethic.”

Chairman Earl presented Rev. Sanders with the Distinguished Service Award in recognition of his many meaningful contributions.

“Rev. Sanders’ ability to always remain a loyal, faithful and humble servant has contributed to his success as a pastor, husband, father, friend, teacher, coach and so on,” Chairman Earl said. “I thank Rev. Sanders and his wife, Connie, for all they have done. Something tells me their retirement won’t involve much sitting but will involve a lot of doing - doing good for the benefit of others.”

Sanders, a retired Social Studies teacher and championship basketball coach, has compiled an impressive resume during his tenure at St. Charles, where he increased the church’s membership, renovated the sanctuary and steered the construction of a $1 million fellowship hall. He was ordained in 1975 after studying at Union Theological Seminary in New York City.

Under Rev. Sanders’ direction, St. Charles has become a place of community, with an SAT tutoring program, a homeless youth program, a cultural awareness program for children of color, and an on-site HIV and AIDS testing and education program.

Rev. Sanders’ service extended to the military and as a U.S. Air Force chaplain, he helped train other military chaplains for service in Desert Storm. He retired as a lieutenant colonel in 2003.

In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Rev. Sanders worked to collect truckloads of supplies for families in hard-hit Jackson, Mississippi. Under his leadership, St. Charles also helped many of the impacted families to find housing and to pay their rent for a year.

His international mission work includes building churches in Ghana, He also helped provide scholarships to enable poor youth in Ghana to attend school.

Rev. Sanders, who grew up during the days of segregation, fought against racial discrimination as part of the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s – and even today, he continues to fight for human and civil rights. His lifelong work led to his inclusion in the Rockland County Civil Rights Hall of Fame in 2009.

The Sanderses, married for 48 years, are retiring to Virginia. They are parents of three children and have two grandchildren.

Photo courtesy of Rockland County Legislature (Rockland County Legislature Chairman Toney L. Earl (right), joined by Legislator Harriet Cornell, presented Rev. Louis Sanders of St. Charles AME Zion Church in Sparkill with a Distinguished Service Award for his nearly 40 years of service and volunteerism in Rockland. )