Bay Area

Miracle Temple’s Pastor Emeritus Dr. Lelia M. Rideau Edwards Celebrates 95th Birthday

Miracle Temple Apostolic Pentecostal Church hosted an appreciation service celebrating Pastor Emeritus Dr. Lelia M. Rideau Edwards’ 95th birthday at the church on Sat. June 10. More than 160 people attended the celebration including family members from Louisiana and Texas. Edwards was born on June 13, 1928, in Palmetto, La., on the Rideau Settlement.

Published

2 years ago

June 22, 2023

Oakland Post

Dr. Lelia M. Rideau Edwards. Courtesy photo.

Miracle Temple Apostolic Pentecostal Church hosted an appreciation service celebrating Pastor Emeritus Dr. Lelia M. Rideau Edwards’ 95^th birthday at the church on Sat. June 10.

More than 160 people attended the celebration including family members from Louisiana and Texas. Edwards was born on June 13, 1928, in Palmetto, La., on the Rideau Settlement.

Sixth of the 10 children of Horace and Mary Rideau, she is the last of her generation, and she is the matriarch of the Rideau family.

Her Creole father spoke French and English. French was the first language of her half-Choctaw mother, who knew only a little English. Edwards’ first language was Creole French and English was her second language. Edwards graduated from Palmetto Colored High School in 1944.

In 1946, Dr. Edwards and her late husband, Sam Edwards, migrated from Louisiana to Richmond and settled into the Seaport Housing Project. She is the mother of four children and was a foster mother to many more.

She has a Bachelor of Arts in Christian Education and a doctorate in Theology from the International Apostolic University of Grace and Truth at its satellite campus in Richmond at Bethel Temple Pentecostal Church.

She was the assistant pastor of Miracle Temple from 1996 to 2000, then pastor for seven years, and on Jan. 1, 2007, she passed the mantle of pastor to Dr. T. Marc Gandy. Edwards has served under six bishops and district elders of the Pentecostal Assemblies of the World (PAW).

Edwards is the past secretary, assistant president, and president of the Northern District Apostolic Women’s Department (NDAW) of the PAW. Under her leadership in the NDAW, Mayor Rosemary Corbin issued a proclamation declaring the second week in October of each year as the “Week of the Apostolic Women” in the City of Richmond.

At the request of former Richmond Mayor Irma Anderson, Edwards dedicated the Hope VI Complex (the former Easter Hill Projects). She was the first woman pastor to dedicate a housing complex in the City of Richmond. Edwards has been a mentor and Bible study teacher at women’s shelters in the Bay Area.

A Richmond resident for 77 years, Edwards gives God all the glory for His mercy and grace and blessing her with 95 years of life and 69 years living a dedicated life to the Lord.