Florida Avenue Baptist Church

623 Florida Avenue, N.W.

Washington, D.C. 20001

Dr. Earl D. Trent, Jr.

Senior Pastor
Deacon Board
Lonell Johnson, II
Chairman
Linda Washington
Vice Chiarman

Church (202) 667-3409

Study (202) 265-0836
Fax (202) 483-4009

Trustee Board
Iris Toyer
Chairman

September 21, 2016

To the Family of Samuel Andrew Jackson, Sr.

Former Chairman of the Florida Avenue Baptist Church Trustee Board
Dear: Janice, Alicia, Samuel Jr., Anne-Marie
and all of the other members of the Jackson Family
The Trustees of the Florida Avenue Baptist Church, both current and former want you to know
our hearts are truly saddened by your loss. Our thoughts and prayers are with you as we
gather together on this day to celebrate the life of our dear brother, Trustee Samuel A.
Jackson, Sr.
Summarizing the life of a giant is not an easy task. Sam, as many of us call him, was in the
words of one of my colleagues Mr. Florida Avenue. There are few aspects of our Church
where his thumbprint is not visible. 1 Peter 4:10 tells us Each one should use whatever gift
he has received to serve others, faithfully administering Gods grace in its various forms. That
was Sam.
Trustee Jackson was a true and faithful servant of God and his beloved Florida Avenue Baptist
Church. For forty-one years he served as a member of the Trustee Board. During his years of
Board service, he dutifully served for fifteen years as our Board Chairman. In speaking about
another member of the Board, Trustee Jackson said, He worked from the time he joined the
Board until the time he left it. He was a problem solver and always offered good ideas
whenever the Board was confronted with a challenge. That statement clearly applies to Sam
as well.
Trustee Jackson was proud that under his Chairmanship he led a number of initiatives:
the Church purchased the parking lot across the street and two commercial properties
on Florida Avenue on the adjacent block;
the Sanctuary was painted and paneled;
the kitchen underwent a massive renovation;

the bathrooms on the upper and lower levels were modernized; in our Fellowship Hall
ceramic tilesselected personally by Samwere installed as well as paneling and an
electric screen on the stage.
the Church completed the renovation of two Church-owned residential properties; as
well as a third property that expanded the Robert L. Rollins Education Building.

As you might have guessed, Trustee Jackson was intimately involved in all of the work.
He led the Board effort to enter into a four year partnership with the District government to
purchase a bus to transport the disabled. He made sure that the Church met all of the
requirements stipulated in the agreement and at the end of the agreement period the DC
government was satisfied that and said the bus was ours.
In short, Sam knew where every nail, screw, nut and bolt in our Church is. He not only was
our Board Chair but also our property manager, project and building superinten-dent. It was
just his wayto share his skills and knowledge in service to his Church.
Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for
people. Remember that the Lord will give you an inheritance as your reward, and that the
Master you are serving is Christ. Colossians 3:23-24
Sam said that he was blessed to serve on the Board and that he thoroughly enjoyed it very
much. We were blessed to have him as our leader. Those of us that served with him will tell
you that Sam could be tough but he was always fair.
I learned an incredible amount about being a Trustee from Samuel Andrew Jackson, Sr. He
continued until his final hospitalization to be a resource for me. I along with all of my Board
colleagues thank him for his service, mentoring and friendship.
Henry Ward Beecher, an American Congregationalist clergyman, said, We go to the grave of
a friend saying, "A man is dead," but angels throng about him saying, "A man is born." We
are sure that there was quite a throng upon the arrival of Sam Jackson!
May the memories you hold of your father, grandfather and great-grandfather, uncle, cousin,
friend give you peace and comfort. Please know that Sams Church family stands ready to be
a leaning post in your hours of need.
Yours in Christ,
The Florida Avenue Baptist Church Trustee Board

Trustee Iris J. Toyer, Chair

Reverend Dr. Earl D. Trent Jr.

Senior Pastor