Passing of Milton Reid Mourned By American Clergy Leadership Conference

Michael Jenkins
December 12, 2010

Left: Rev. In Jin Moon and Rev. Milton Reid worked in 2010 to expose the human-rights scandal in Japan. Right: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. with Rev. Milton Reid (far right) in the early 1960s.

On Sunday, December 12, 2010 one of the great Christian leaders of American history, Rev. Milton Reid, transitioned to heaven at the age of 80. We offer our sincere prayers and condolences for Mrs. Reid and all of his family members. Rev. Levy Daughtery, American Clergy Leadership Conference (ACLC) National Executive Advisor, was with him on Saturday night in the hospital hours before he passed away the next morning.

Courageous throughout every phase of his life, he stood as the central civil-rights leader in Virginia. Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, his friend and colleague, preached the sermon when Rev. Reid was installed as pastor of his church in Norfolk. His stature was always respected and loved ; he believed in Jesus and "knew" Him heart to heart. He truly followed Jesus' way of love throughout his life, preferring to be called "Milton the Disciple." From the early days of the ministry of Rev. Sun Myung Moon, the founder of the ACLC, Rev. Reid was unequivocal about his support for him and the work to strengthen families and bring unity and sincere practice to the Christian family.

In 2000, Rev. Reid helped to found the ACLC and welcomed Father Moon to Norfolk on the latter's 50-state-tour. He introduced other civil rights leaders to ACLC and strengthened the movement tremendously. He attended the marriage blessing with his wife, Marian, and was a strong believer in the calling of Father and Mother Moon to "bless" the institutions of marriage and the family.

He started the Martin Luther King, Jr., Family Life Institute and together with Rev. Daugherty, who joined him on the Institute's board, made significant progress advancing pro-family and marriage legislation in Virginia and throughout this nation.

In his book, The God of the West and the Christ of Glory, he testifies to the importance of the genuine walk with Jesus, not only in praise but also in practice. In his book, he testifies to our ACLC founder and his courage to bring unity to God's people. As always, he was proud of his associations and was confident that God called him to stand up for what is right.

In his final year, he joined Rev. In Jin Moon in exposing violations of the human rights and religious freedom of Unification Church members in Japan. Visiting Capitol Hill with her and other clergy, he opened the doors to some of America's most influential political leaders, who then joined in this fight. As with all other battles for justice, he saw injustice for what it was and quickly took the lead with other key clergy seriously to address this modern day evil against the people of God and the battle for human rights, regardless of whether it were popular of not.

He is truly a dear elder brother and beloved leader of faith; a great encouragement to us all at ACLC. We will sincerely miss his joyful and loving heart to practice Jesus' love, to overcome evil, and to redeem his fellow man.

Contributed by Rev. Michael Jenkins, ACLC Chairman