U.S. Rep. Gerald Connolly (D-11) and Supervisor Cathy Hudgins (D-Hunter Mill) joined area church leaders and visitors to celebrate the retirement of Resurrection Baptist Church pastor Ronald Winters on Saturday, Oct. 11 at the Heritage Fellowship Church in Reston.
Rev. Winters has served as pastor of Resurrection Baptist Church since he founded it in 1994, with his wife of 50 years, Dr. Janice Winters.
The Winters initially held services in their house. The church moved four times since its founding — first to Spring Street in Herndon, then at Heritage Fellowship Church in Reston, at Dogwood Elementary School in Reston in 2006, and lastly at the Reston Community Center in 2010.
Connolly has known Winters for more than 20 years, through Winters’ work with Food for Others, the Tinner Hill Foundation and NAACP. “He would often bring cases to my attention when he thought discrimination may have occurred,” said Connolly.
Connolly stressed Winters’ work with NAACP in trying to make sure that civil rights protection is an important priority. “He’s one of the quiet but great leaders in the civil rights movement for equality for everybody in Fairfax County and Northern Virginia,” he said. “I couldn’t not come to this event.”
Winters’ daughter, Christy Winters Scott teared up when speaking about her father. “He touched a lot of lives, not just every Sunday but every day. It’s late at night and during the weekend.” She said she feels blessed to have parents that she could always count on and talk to and who would always be understanding.
“He is and still will be my hero,” said Rev. Michael Watts, co-pastor at Resurrection Baptist Church. Winters asked Watts to join the church 19 years ago back when Watts worked cleaning the floors and setting up the church’s first location in Spring Street. “My pastor, Rev. Winters, who is and always will be my pastor.”
Supervisor Hudgins’ and Winters’ family grew up together. “I’m fortunate to have known him. He really has served as a pillar in this Northern Virginia community in building the faith community and serving our community as a whole.”
Retired pastor Rev. Dr. Kenny Smith of First Baptist Church in Vienna described Winters as “sent from God” during his address to the audience.
Winters plans to continue his divine calling — to preach God’s word — even after retirement. “I won’t be pastor anymore but I’ll still be a preacher,” he said.
Before starting his own church, Winters was pastor at Peace Baptist Church in Dunn Loring and Mount Pleasant Baptist Church in Herndon. He also worked as an assistant to Sen. Vance Hartke of Indiana.
Winters was born in Indiana in 1932. He met his wife, who hails from Alexandria, on a blind date in 1963 and they were married a year later.