November 8 Today in OPC History

On November 8, 2007, the Rev. Richard M. Lewis, longtime pastor of Covenant OPC, Berkeley, California, passed away at the age of 82. A native of Uhrichsville, Ohio, Lewis enlisted in the US Navy during World War II. While serving on the USS Wisconsin, he converted to Christ through the discipleship of a group of sailors on board the ship. After his discharge in 1946, Lewis enrolled at Wheaton College where he met his wife, Jeanne, whom he married after his graduation in 1950. After earning BD (1953) and ThM (1954) degrees from Westminster Seminary, he was called in 1956 to pastor Covenant OPC, Berkeley, California where he served until 2001. During his long tenure there he helped to establish Orthodox Presbyterian congregations in Novato, California, and Battle Mountain, Nevada.

In 1965 Lewis served as a special lecturer in systematic theology at Westminster Seminary during Professor John Murray’s sabbatical. He so distinguished himself in that service that he was offered a permanent post at the seminary, but his love for his flock in California prompted him to decline the invitation. At the time of his retirement in 2001 Lewis had the longest continuous pastoral service at a single congregation in the history of the OPC - 44 years.

Picture: Richard, Jeanne, Linda and Richard Lewis in the early 1960s.