SALT LAKE CITY — After 45 years, Rev. France A. Davis is preparing his last sermon as the pastor at Calvary Baptist.

The topic?

“I don’t know yet,” the 73-year-old said with a smile. “But I’m working on it.”

Nevertheless, the longtime pastor will be ready on Sunday for his last two services (8 and 11 a.m.), before he officially retires on Dec. 31.

It’s really happening, said Sister Willene Davis, the pastor’s wife.

Rev. France A. Davis, pastor of Calvary Baptist Church, inside the church in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2019. | Steve Griffin, Deseret News

“God says it’s time, so I’m fine with it,” she said. “I hope that he enjoys himself and spends time now doing the things he kept saying that he wants to do. He says he’ll sleep for the first year.”

Rev. Davis will be greatly missed by his congregation and the community, said his sister, Sarah Rowellette. Both women praised his dedication, stalwart example and genuine concern for people.

“It’s heartbreaking because he’s my heart. I grew up in Calvary. Pastor has taken us leaps and bounds,” said Rowellette, before having a little fun as she visualized his final sermon. “Like (Barack) Obama, he will drop the mic. ‘How do you like me now?’”

After shepherding his flock through events like the Sept. 11 attacks and the Charleston shooting, and celebrating events like Obama’s presidential election, the time has indeed come for Rev. Davis to rest.

He confirmed plans to definitely sleep more, as well as travel some and occasionally preach a sermon, stepping in here or there to help if needed. He hopes to do some writing and will continue his duties as chaplain for the University of Utah football team. He said he will miss the relationships with the people in his congregation and community, but notes he will continue to advocate for fair medical benefits, helping the homeless and champion education.

“When I’m retired I will do what I want to do instead of what I have to do,” Rev. Davis said. “I won’t be obligated to be anywhere on an ongoing basis.”

The Calvary Baptist congregation recently voted to invite Rev. Oscar T. Moses, a pastor from Chicago, to replace Rev. Davis and he has accepted, Rev. Davis confirmed. The new pastor is expected to preach is first sermon Jan. 5.

Following the morning worship services on Sunday, Calvary Baptist will host a retirement reception for Rev. and Sister Davis from 1-3 p.m. Everyone is invited.

As he prepares to turn the page on this chapter of his life, Rev. Davis sat down with the Deseret News to reflect on more than four decades of church and community service. The conversation addressed challenges and highlights, memories and mentors, Utah football and the scriptures, advice to young people, his friendships with Latter-day Saint church leaders and how he hopes to be remembered.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Deseret News: When did you know you wanted to be a pastor?

Rev. France A. Davis: I knew when I was 18 years old that I wanted to be a pastor. In fact, I became a licensed minister in 1966 when I was 20 years old, and then was ordained in 1970. Once ordained, the cards were pretty much set to become a pastor of a church. I moved to Salt Lake to teach at the University of Utah and be a graduate student. I was waiting for church. A year later, the pastor of this church resigned and moved. They asked me to fill in until they could find somebody and since I was already qualified and certified, and I became the pastor in 1974.

DN: Was there a defining moment or spiritual experience early in your life that helped you find your calling?

The Rev. France A. Davis in his early years | Deseret News

RFD: I grew up as an active religious and spiritual person, a member of a Baptist congregation in Georgia. When I went to college after my first year, I was kind of searching for what my mission in life would be. At that point, it was very clear to me that being a pastor was the mission. So that was kind of the defining moment.

DN: Who has been the most influential person in your life?

RFD: I have three mentors that I claim. One was my father, John Davis. He was an active deacon in the church where we grew up. He set the tone about how to be a young man, how to grow up and how to interact with people of all sorts.

Secondly, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was a mentor in civil rights and in ministry. I marched with him during the 1960s.

My third mentor was Dr. Howard Thurman. He was a thinker, a reasoner, a person that believed in mysticism and believed that the church was that place for all people.

DN: What’s one lesson you learned from your Dr. King/civil rights days that helped you as a faith leader and blessed your ministry?

RFD: Absolutely. Dr. King set the example of how to apply what one believes. It’s not enough just to believe it, but you have to do something with it. If you say you believe in love, then you have to show love. If you believe that everybody ought to be treated like a good human being then you have to treat them that way. So Dr. King’s teachings were practical, down to earth and applicable to everyday life.

DN: What was your biggest failure or challenge in the last 45 years?

RFD: The greatest challenge has been working in Utah and getting things done in the political system. Trying to make sure that there were fair laws on the books, trying to make sure that everybody had an opportunity for a good education, trying to make sure that economic development was meaningful to the people who were part of this congregation. 

DN: What would you say is your greatest accomplishment?

RFD: My greatest accomplishment was building housing for the elderly that would be subsidized. We have a housing complex that we built on 500 East and 700 South, Cavalry Tower.

My second was building this facility in a downtown location in Salt Lake City.

Thirdly was providing educational scholarships for young people to go to school.

Fourthly, just basically helping people to feel like they are somebody.

DN: What is the most important thing you have learned in the last 45 years? 

RFD: People are people everywhere. Experience has taught me to treat people as persons of value, class and style.

DN: Is there a favorite scripture or scripture story that has guided you in your ministry?

RFD: In the Old Testament, Psalms 16:6 — “The lines are drawn in pleasant places; yes, I have a goodly heritage.” That scripture guides everything that I do.

The story is in the New Testament — the Good Samaritan (Luke 10).

Personally, I feel like people have treated me and the people that I serve as if we were nobody more times than not. In order to make a meaningful change, we needed a strong leader. I believe that I could be that person. I believe I was prepared to be the leader and a person that was available. So that story has personal application to my life, as well as to that of many of the people from the Calvary congregation.

DN: In the Psalms scripture, you mentioned your heritage. What strengths have you drawn from your heritage? 

RFD: First of all, in order to be what you to going to be in any field, I’m convinced you have to start by knowing who you are, and thus once you know who you are, you can help other people to figure out who they are. That scripture teaches me that I am somebody, that I have a “goodly heritage” from my father, from those who were my mentors, from my grandparents, my whole area of operations, both here in Utah and elsewhere.

DN: What advice would you pass along to people, especially young people, for how to survive spiritually in today’s turbulent times? 

RFD: I would say to young people be what you is and not what you ain’t, because if you ain’t what you is, then you is what you ain’t. I would remind them that you have to realize who you are, celebrate who you are, and do all you can where you are.

DN: You will continue to serve as chaplain for the University of Utah football team. What do you appreciate most about being a chaplain?

RFD: One of the joys of my ministry has been interacting with students at the university, both as a teacher who taught there for 40-plus years, and now as the chaplain for the football team. It helps me to feel like I’m still young. It makes me feel like I have meaningful purpose and goal. So yes, I’ll continue to be chaplain. The coach and I have already had a conversation, and I’ll continue to work with the team to help them to be all that they can be.

DN: What’s the hardest request you ever received from a player as chaplain?

RFD: The hardest request I think might well have been when a football player had a tragedy back home. They asked me to help deal with the death back at home. Always something related to back home and family.

DN: Most memorable moment as chaplain?

RFD: Not a moment, but perhaps every game there’s at least one player who comes to me and asks if I would pray for them. That, for me, is the most memorable time. Pray for my leg, pray for my arm, pray for my body, pray for my family. At least one player will come to me at every game and ask me to pray on their behalf, something special just for them, not for the whole team. I get a lot of joy from seeing how their faces and demeanor change. They go to play with a new sense of purpose. That for me is thrilling.

DN: Last July, President Russell M. Nelson of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints paid tribute to you at the NAACP annual convention in Detroit. He said your “quiet dignity and tireless advocacy for unity have greatly enriched the fabric of our community.” What did that mean to you?

RFD: What it means is that our church, the Calvary Baptist Church, has just as much relevance and meaning as does any other church in this community.

Secondly, it means that he and I have been able to build a friendship to work together. He’s sat in the very chair that you are sitting in and talked with me before he delivered that speech. So it means that we are colleagues, we are friends, we are not adversaries in terms of what we are trying to do. 

DN: During his remarks, President Nelson recalled hosting you at a Tabernacle Choir concert and then attending a service here at the Calvary Baptist Church. He said “true community begins with relationships” that involve loving, honoring and serving your neighbor. What has it been like to associate with various Latter-day Saint leaders over the years? 

RFD: I’ve had a relationship with the presidents of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints going back to President Harold B. Lee, President (Gordon B.) Hinckley, President Thomas S. Monson and the current president. We purchased the piece of land on which this building is seated from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Historically, for the last 46 years or so, it’s been my mission to build relationships with people of all faiths, religions and types in the community. One of those has been the dominant religious group, which is The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

View Comments

DN: Have you always preferred to wear bow ties?

Pastor France A. Davis poses for a portrait at Calvary Baptist Church in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, March 28, 2018. Davis knew Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and draws inspiration from his work. | Deseret News

RFD: No. I’ve preferred the bow tie for the last four or five years, but prior to that time, I always wore a necktie. But now I only wear bow ties. I have some regular ties that I’m trying to give away. I want to wear bow ties.

DN: How would you like to be remembered by your congregation and community?

RFD: I think the current president of the LDS Church summed it up. I hope to be remembered that way with his words. I hope also to be remembered for having accepted people as people and not made a distinction between any person, regardless of what they look like or what their religious practice was or what their economic or educational status was. I hope to be remembered as a person who believed that all people have value and have words and that as we learn to celebrate differences then we also learn to appreciate those things that we have in common.

Join the Conversation
Looking for comments?
Find comments in their new home! Click the buttons at the top or within the article to view them — or use the button below for quick access.