Alderman Sam Moore mourned

On Sunday, March 8, as St. Louis bid farewell to 4th Ward Alderman Samuel L. Moore Jr., there were no empty seats inside the sanctuary of Williams Temple Church of God in Christ, no remaining obituaries to hand out and no room on the program for additional speakers.

It was the second day of services for Moore, who passed away on February 25 after being ill for several months. The weekend brought citizens from every walk of life together to honor his memory and legacy.

“You know, Nelly was here yesterday,” one of his Sumner high classmates whispered just before the homegoing began. “Everybody knew Sam – and everybody loved him.”

This was the sentiment echoed over five hours in the Sunday homegoing service that Moore planned himself.

“This is what Elder Moore wanted – he wanted a homegoing service,” said Jurisdictional First Lady Shirley Wooten, wife of Bishop Lawrence M. Wooten (Williams Temple senior pastor and COGIC General Board member), who eulogized Moore. “He did not want a funeral. He wanted a homegoing service.”

There was plenty of music – fitting for the man who called himself “the singing alderman.” There was crying. There was shouting. But most of all there was celebration of a life lived on purpose and committed to serving the region through civic leadership and the faith of his beloved COGIC.

“I know that the City of St. Louis is going to feel the loss of Alderman Sam Moore. The Church of God in Christ is going to feel the loss of Elder Sam Moore,” said Mother Rosetta Watts. “But what we feel as a loss, God feels as a gain.”

He was ushered into heaven in the same sanctuary he grew up in.

“Today is a surreal moment for all of us,” said Michael McMillan, president and CEO of the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis. “To be in this building without Sam Moore is something I thought would never happen.”

McMillan told the family that the Urban League would establish a scholarship in Moore’s honor for a male and a female student who reside in Moore’s beloved 4th Ward.

Mayor Lyda Krewson thanked Moore’s wife Linda Moore, his children Tracey and Kyle, and the rest of his family for “sharing him” with the region.

“This man has touched many lives. Sam Moore was a friend of mine,” Krewson said. “I am so thankful to have known Sam.”

Krewson came back for a second day after speaking at Saturday’s civic ceremony held in Moore’s honor. Aldermanic President Lewis Reed and several others – including St. Louis License Collector Mavis Thompson, St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kimberly Gardner and former state Rep. Betty Thompson – spoke about his commitment to the region.

“Sam and I had the opportunity to work with people all over this city,” Reed said. “Sam always strived to get the best out of everyone. His impact on the St. Louis Board of Aldermen cannot be measured.”

Reed recalled one of the final meetings Moore attended, just as his health was declining.

“He looked around and told everybody, ‘I will not be with you long. But I want you to know today that I want you all to come together as one board. I don’t want you to be divided. Put away all these differences and do the work of the people,’” Reed said.

Reed credited Moore for playing a critical role in the establishment of the Civilian Oversight Board and the first minority inclusion ordinance in the city’s history.

Bishop Charles E. Blake Sr., presiding bishop of the Church of God In Christ, addressed the homegoing in a letter read by COGIC Chief Operating Officer Bishop Edwin Bass.

“I pause today to acknowledge the successful conclusion of a productive earthly life that God himself takes note of,” Bishop Blake wrote.

Bishop Blake came to know Moore personally because of Moore’s service to COGIC during the decade the church held its annual Holy Convocation in St. Louis  and brought tens of thousands of saints (and tens of millions of dollars) to the city. Moore also had a hand in securing St. Louis as the host city.

“Alderman Moore was a giant of a man,” Blake wrote. “He used his gifts to motivate people and to foster projects for the betterment of the St. Louis community and the Church of God in Christ.”

Bishop Wooten, who knew Moore for decades, was charged with delivering the eulogy. Several men of faith who spoke asked that the audience keep Bishop in their prayers as he prepared to speak about his friend.

“Anybody that says that men don’t cry, they are lying,” Bishop Wooten said as he prepared to begin the eulogy. “Sam was my friend. When I got the news that he had transitioned to glory, I was at a General Board meeting. I sat there and just cried.”

But Bishop Wooten seemed joyful as he talked about Moore “heading to his new home in glory” and being a “soldier in the army of the Lord.”

Bishop Wooten told them that in order to be a good soldier one must be a follower, be faithful, be familiar, be a fighter and be a finisher.

“And I’ll add friend, because he was a friend to us all,” Bishop Wooten said.

“The Lord said, ‘Well done, my faithful servant. You were faithful over a few things. Now I’ll make you ruler over many,’” Bishop Wooten said. “He had a nice house on Garfield and Newstead. But now he’s hanging in a mansion.”