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NORFOLK — Family, friends and community members whose lives were touched by Rev. Joseph N. Green Jr. flowed Saturday into Christ & Saint Luke’s Episcopal Church to honor his memory and legacy.
Eulogies interwoven with hymns told the story of Green’s life: one of service to the city of Norfolk. Green, who died Jan. 13 at age 96, was a civic and spiritual leader as a city council member for 20 years and rector of Grace Episcopal Church for 30 years.
“My friends, I stand before you this morning thanking God for his long, fruitful, consequential life,” Jerrauld C. Jones said.
Jones, a Norfolk Circuit Court judge, said he was 9 when Green moved with his family to Norfolk and became friends with Jones’ family.
“Everyone in here today has a Father Green story or two or ten to tell,” Jones said, speaking to the church filled with roughly 450 people. “Father Green, or Reverend Green, or Canon Green, or Papa Joe or just plain Joe — whatever term of endearment your relationship with him allowed you to call him, he was a special person who loved people, and people loved him.”
Grandson Charles Edward Joseph Middleton IV recalled Green driving him to school in the morning, breaking down the news on the radio.
“He allowed me to question, to understand, to inquire. He forced me to think critically,” Middleton said. “While we the family mourn our loss, we will always hold dear the memories we created.”
When Rev. Noah Van Niel was new to Norfolk, Green, informed by decades of knowledge and deep involvement with the spaces they visited, took him on a tour — including a stop at West Point Cemetery, a resting place for African Americans who fought for the Union in the Civil War.
“Black people in this city have been fighting for freedom and equality for a long time,” Green told him.
At the end of their tour, they visited Green’s backyard garden.
“I think it made perfect sense for us to end up right there,” Van Niel said. “Because while Joe was a lot of things — a son, a brother, a husband, a father, a grandfather, a priest, an activist, a civic leader, a trailblazer — in his heart, Joe was a gardener.”
Van Niel said Green was sowing seeds of hope and love, planting saplings of justice and righteousness.
In addition to a garden bed, he had “a city that bears the fruit of so much of his planting,” Van Niel said. “Norfolk looks different today than it otherwise could have because of Joe Green. Norfolk is better today because of Joe Green.”
Jones said Green’s community service was a natural extension of his ministry.
“Because of his passion for people — I believe that is why he was drawn into public service beyond the walls of Grace Church,” Jones said.
Green’s work continues to inspire the next generation’s leaders.
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Portsmouth Del. Don Scott, minority leader of the Virginia House, knew Green for 20 years.
“He left behind so much wisdom,” Scott said. “He always encouraged people like me, young leaders.”
Norfolk city councilwoman Danica Royster said she hopes to carry on Green’s legacy of leadership, compassion and love.
“He was a trailblazer in combatting systemic racism,” Royster said. “He put equity and equality at the forefront.”
Jones quoted a hymn to represent Green’s life and mission: “’Come labor on. No time for rest, till glows the western sky, till the long shadows o’er our pathway lie, and a glad sound comes with the setting sun. Servants, well done.’”
Jones’ voice broke with grief toward the end of his recitation. “Well done, Joseph Nathaniel Green, Jr., our good and faithful servant. Well done.”