Bishop Sedgwick Daniels, electrifying and influential Milwaukee pastor, dies at 64

From the the pulpit of Holy Redeemer Institutional Church of God in Christ, Bishop Sedgwick Daniels enraptured worshipers each Sunday with electrifying and uplifting sermons, often driving them to their feet in praise dances.

After more than three decades serving as head of one of Milwaukee's largest Black churches and a guiding light for the city's faith community, Daniels died Sunday. He was 64 years old.

Daniels founded Holy Redeemer church in 1986 in a small building on North 12th Street and West Atkinson Avenue. At the time, the church had only 40 members, but the congregation quickly outgrew its facility.

Under Daniels' stewardship, the church turned an abandoned industrial site at North 35th Street and Weest Hampton Avenue into a multi-million dollar church complex.

Since then, the sanctuary has stood as an economic and social anchor for Milwaukee’s north side.

For many in the Milwaukee area, Daniels served as a father figure, shepherding hundreds of young people and families into the church. Daniels could often be found welcoming community members into his home for dinners, taking parishioners home in the church van after a late-night Bible study, or driving students to college tours or their freshman move-in day.

Kathy Harris, who serves as a Church of God in Christ Minister of Music, knew Daniels for much of her young adult life before joining the church as an employee in 1986. Working alongside Daniels, she said she learned what it looked like to build family through faith.

Though she described Daniels' passing as a "catastrophic loss" to their church community, she finds solace in the fact that Daniels inspired so many to follow in his footsteps.

"He baptized me, he married me, he supported me when my parents died," Harris said. "He's trained us and taught us to make it through loving unity. He has really laid the blueprint out for us and we are more than capable of continuing his work."

As a member of one of the city's most influential families, Daniels was known by many as the brother of John Daniels, a nationally respected real estate attorney at Quarles & Brady; the late Hattie Daniels-Rush, an appointee to the National Commission on Presidential Scholars; and Valerie Daniels-Carter, president of one of the nation's most prominent Black-owned restaurant franchise companies, V & J Foods.

According to sources close to the family, Daniels had been confronting ongoing health challenges. His passing was announced Sunday evening during the 115th Holy Convocation of the Church of God in Christ in Memphis.

Daniels embodied philosophy of 'faith-based empowerment'

As the second youngest of eight children, Daniels grew up attending West Side Church of God in Christ in Milwaukee alongside his parents, John and Kathryn Daniels, and his siblings.

Friends of the family recall a young Daniels gliding through the building offering his aid to elder churchgoers, shadowing a deacon and participating in Bible study.

"They called him 'Bishop,' even as a young kid, when he was 10 or 12 years old," said Nathaniel Stampley, a close friend and mentor of Daniels. "We all saw his interest for the operation of the church, and being spirit-led."

As a young man, Daniels traveled to Alabama to pursue his undergraduate studies and to Georgia for his advanced degrees at the Interdenominational Theological Center, before returning to Milwaukee to preach.

Over the course of his career, Daniels was lauded as an accomplished faith leader and expert. He earned five doctorates in divinity and humanities and often supported academic partnerships like Holy Redeemer's program offering accredited undergraduate and graduate degrees with Marian University.

In 2001, Daniels was elevated to the role of bishop of the Church of God in Christ, or COGIC. In his 22 years as bishop, Daniels' jurisdiction grew from 39 churches to over 100 ministries across the Midwest. He also played a prominent national role for the organization as one of 12 bishops elected to establish policies for members of the church.

By the early 2000s, Daniels was welcoming more than 5,000 worshipers into the church each week.

He loved to preach. At a Sunday service, attendees would often hear the Bishop chime a common refrain: "Can I get five more COGIC minutes?" This inquiry meant his message could extend for another 20, 30 or 45-minute stretch as worshipers clapped and whooped in affirmation.

In addition to weekly worship services, Daniels used his growing influence to open the Daniels-Mardak Boys and Girls Club in 2004. The ribbon-cutting for the center brought together a crowd of more than 2,000 people, including Rev. Jesse Jackson and Michael Jordan. The center closed in 2017.

Daniels was greatly influenced by his mother Kathryn, who inspired his appreciation for community service and "faith-based empowerment." Many of Daniels' community-oriented developments are located on Mother Daniels Way, a street named after her.

Over three decades, Daniels established several schools, a credit union, a health clinic, a domestic violence prevention shelter, a 22-unit affordable housing complex for seniors and led the conversion of a former tannery into a multi-use development containing business offices, affordable apartments and a 48-room Quality Inn.

The effort was a reflection of Daniels' goal to extend the church's mission to all members of the community regardless of religious denomination or background.

"His ability to to reach beyond the four walls of the church was the template for other pastors," said Bishop M.C. McClelland, pastor of Holy Cathedral Church of God In Christ. "It was an opportunity to show that in spite of your surrounding circumstances, you can effect change, and he did that quite well."

Daniels' spiritual leadership led to political influence

Daniels also wielded significant political influence from the pulpit. Over the years, a parade of politicians and candidates visited his church, hoping to connect with Black voters in Milwaukee and beyond.

Daniels considered himself an independent and "a realist" when it came to the intersections of faith, politics and poverty. He was a supporter of former President Bill Clinton and won invitations to the White House during his presidency. But he also endorsed his Republican successor, former President George W. Bush, who made it a point to stop at Daniels’ church whenever he was in Milwaukee.

In the early 2000s, Daniels' efforts to drive social and economic development on Milwaukee’s north side aligned with Bush's faith-based initiatives. Bush believed that faith-based organizations should have a greater role in providing social services. These initiatives prompted Daniels to endorse Bush for president in 2004.

He would go on to serve as a delegate for the 2004 Republican National Convention, alongside his sister Hattie.

In a Journal Sentinel article published that year, Daniels said, "There is no salvation, so to speak, in one party, in one individual and in one group."

Through the years, Daniels would often advocate for religious groups to receive federal funding to implement programs usually carried out by secular nonprofit organizations.

Daniels was a strong supporter of school choice, opening a charter school on the church’s campus where students attended with the help of taxpayer subsidies or vouchers.

That school came out of obscurity to take the Division 5 state high school basketball championship in 2015. It was the only urban school from the central city that made it to the state championship that year, the Journal Sentinel reported.

Daniels' growing public persona also granted him opportunities to travel internationally to speak about faith and spirituality across denominations. Among his favorite expeditions were trips of service in various regions of Africa, Dubai and Qatar.

Wisconsin leaders remember Daniels' impact

News of Daniels' death reverberated quickly across the country with hundreds of tributes flooding social media feeds as people celebrated the religious leader's legacy.

In some posts, community members reflected on Daniels springing to action when they lost family members, flying cross-country to join their families in prayer or paying for memorial services. Videos of Daniels' most famous sermons have been widely shared, with clips of the jovial preacher dancing with raised arms as he shouts hymnal chants in a call and response with the church's organ player.

Described by many as a charismatic leader, patient teacher and humorous old soul, Daniels was seen by many as an irreplaceable cultural icon in Milwaukee's history.

Mayor Cavalier Johnson mourned Daniels' passing in a statement posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, on Sunday. Daniels gave the invocation at his swearing-in ceremony in 2022.

"Bishop Daniels was a pillar in the Milwaukee community," Johnson said. "It didn't matter if it was in the faith community in economics or education. Bishop Daniels left a lasting impression on us all."

Wisconsin's former lieutenant governor Mandela Barnes attended Holy Redeemer Christian Academy and visited the church on several occasions. In a statement, Barnes said Daniels was "a lifelong friend and mentor, someone who showed up for me from the very beginning. I will forever be grateful for his counsel, constructive feedback, and belief in me."

In his own statement, Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley said Daniels' impact will be felt for generations to come.

“He taught resilience and perseverance through despair – lessons we will heed as we mourn his loss," Crowley said.

As tributes continue to pour in for Daniels, his family and the leadership of the Church of God in Christ will celebrate his life in a series of ceremonies at Holy Redeemer, located at 3500 West Mother Daniels Way in Milwaukee. A local and jurisdictional celebration of life will be held on Sunday, Nov. 19 from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. A national homegoing celebration will be held on Monday, Nov. 20 from 9 a.m. until 11 a.m. All services will be livestreamed on the Holy Redeemer Facebook and YouTube pages, @HRCOGIC.

"There was no one too small in terms of their stature or ministry, no family too small for him not to stop and spend time with them," said Bishop Jerry Macklin, who served alongside Daniels on the Church of God in Christ General Board. "We were very comfortable with him representing us in the White House and the community. He did a phenomenal job of helping the Church of God in Christ message to be heard around the world, and we will miss him so much."

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Bishop Sedgwick Daniels, electrifying Milwaukee pastor, dies at 64