.

.

 

SEAN BOOKER: Minister to His Flock

 

Sean Booker was a troubleshooting technician for Xerox, but his hours away from the job were concentrated on fixing something much dearer to him than office machinery: troubled souls. Mr. Booker, 35, was an ordained minister with his own flock at the Tabernacle Outreach No. 2 in Newark, a vocation he decided to pursue during his 20's. "Everything he did was church-related," said his older sister, Stacey Booker. "He was a true minister of God."

Three nights a week were designated for Bible study classes, he preached two services each Sunday, and also provided an ersatz shuttle service for any churchgoers in need of transportation.

Whatever spare time was left he spent with his three children: Mr. Booker was a twin, and he and his wife, Sharon, had a set of three-year-old twins and another son, five. Though he'd pounded the inner city basketball courts in Newark with the rest of the neighborhood boys and also played football, Mr. Booker abandoned sports for spirituality.

.

From "Profiles in Grief" of The New York Times