The Reverend Dr. Howard W. Creecy Sr., one of Georgia’s most beloved pastors and a leader in the civil rights movement, died of heart failure Feb. 28 at his home in Atlanta, but the impact the dynamic preacher and community leader made on those closest to him and the Fayette and south metro community still is being felt.

Creecy, best known locally as the founder and senior pastor of The Olivet Church, a Baptist church north of Fayetteville on Ga. Highway 314, was a lifelong preacher — he began preaching at 13 and was later ordained on Feb. 22,1954.

He preached all across Louisiana, where he was born, Alabama and Georgia, and he demonstrated his love for Christianity, the community and Christian people everywhere with his involvement in numerous activities and organizational affiliations, including serving as president of Christian organizations such as the Congress of Christian Education of the Progressive National Baptist Convention, Inc.; Southern Region, Progressive National Baptist Convention, Inc.; Congress of Christian Education of the New Era MIssionary Baptist Convention of Georgia; Metropolitan Atlanta Baptist Ministers Union, Inc.; and, perhaps most notably, the Atlanta Chapter of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.

Creecy’s passion for preaching and his warm, affable personality drew people to him.

One such person was Juanita Abernathy, widow of pastor Ralph David Abernathy, who was Martin Luther King Jr.’s chief partner in the civil rights movement. The Abernathys had been close friends with Creecy for more than 50 years.

Juanita Abernathy met Creecy through her husband, who was one of Creecy’s fraternity brothers at Alabama State University.

“He was a wonderful person,” Juanita Abernathy said of Creecy. “He was very tender-hearted, loving and kind. He was a good Christian man.”

Juanita Abernathy remembers Creecy not only as a great man, but also as a remarkable pastor who sincerely practiced what he preached.

“He was a powerful preacher,” she said. “He was very spirit-filled, a true bible scholar. When you left his sermon, you had a message that carried with you the entire week. He was a very compassionate pastor.

“He was an old-school type. He visited the sick and counseled the young. He looked after the flock in its entirety. He was a hands-on pastor.

“That’s not always found today in our churches.”

Juanita Abernathy feels Creecy’s loss will be particularly felt at The Olivet Church.

“Olivet lost a pastor of the first magnitude,” she said. “He is leaving a big, vacant spot.”

Taking Creecy’s place as senior pastor at The Olivet Church is none other than his son, the Rev. Dr. Howard Creecy Jr., though his son won’t formally accept his father’s title.

“I would never take the title because of my father,” Creecy Jr. said. “I obviously have a great love and admiration for my father. I won’t even try to fill his shoes. I just walk in the shoes I’ve got.”

Creecy Jr., a pastor in Atlanta for 25 years, and his father had long dreamed of working together as preachers. They wanted to branch out to the suburbs.

They did extensive research on the demographics of a few areas, including Fayetteville, after which they agreed that it would be the ideal place to start a ministry.

Creecy Sr. decided to come out of retirement after having worked as a pastor in the Metro Atlanta area for 47 years, and their father-and-son dream of starting a ministry together came to fruition in 1991, when they founded The Olivet Church.

“We always dreamed of working together and preaching together,” Creecy Jr. said. “We began to plan to get into suburban work. When we initially talked about it, we looked at the South Fulton, Clayton County areas. After the 1980s and ‘90s, we saw census figures that suggested there would be a growing presence of African-Americans moving to Fayette County. They were looking for good housing prices and a good school system, which Fayette County offered.

“We thought there would be a need for a church in Fayette County, and we thought it would be successful there.”

Their decision has proven fruitful; when the church first opened, there were 47 parishioners, according to Creecy Jr., who says the number of The Olivet Church’s parishioners has grow exponentially, with 1,400 currently attending weekly services.

“It’s by far the largest faith fellowship for African-Americans in Fayette County,” Creecy Jr. said.

Creecy Sr.’s pastoral skills were key in the significant growth of The Olivet Church.

“When you heard him speak, you always sensed that not only was his mouth moving, his mind was engaged,” Creecy Jr. said. “He always quoted great thinkers and redefined their thoughts. He had a mystic blend of intelligence, wisdom and spirituality. He would intrigue you with his mind and ideas, and he was persuasive in his presentation.

“The Olivet Church has grown so rapidly because of his pastoral skills.”

The Rev. Dr. Cameron Alexander, pastor of Antioch Baptist Church in Atlanta and a longtime friend of Creecy Sr., agrees.

“One reason his church in Fayetteville grew so fast was because of Howard Creecy’s preaching ability and his ability to convince people to change their lives for righteousness,” Alexander said. “He was a person who could bring people together. He saw things in shades of grey, not black and white.”

Added Alexander: “Howard Creecy was a man who filled a lot of space. Since his death, we’re beginning to learn how large that space was.”

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