Pastor William C. Blair will give Invocation and Benediction at the 2018 Memorial Day Service at Lake View Cemetery Monday.

The United Veterans Council of Jamestown announces the clergy who will give Invocation and Benediction at the 2018 Memorial Day Service at Lake View Cemetery Monday. Immediately following the Memorial Day Parade that begins at 10 a.m. and will travel east on Fourth Street, along Prendergast Avenue ending at Soldiers Circle.

Master of Ceremonies, Ken Furlow, welcomes the community to partake in Memorial Service to honor fallen veterans in the Jamestown community.

Senior pastor at New Creation Assembly of God, William C. Blair, is a native of Southern, Ohio, and the son of a laborer and bank teller. He came to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ while serving as an enlisted Marine with the third Marine Division, Camp Hansen, Okinawa, Japan. Upon his discharge from the Marine Corps, Bill attended the required schools for ministry and became the Pastor of Belton Assembly of God Church, Belton, S.C.

His education includes a bachelor’s degree from Southeastern University, master’s degrees from Erskine and Princeton Theological Seminaries, and a doctorate from the Assemblies of God Theological Seminary.

Bill returned to the Sea Services when he became a U.S. Navy Chaplain. During his ministry as a chaplain, he served in a variety of settings; at sea aboard ship, with the Marines in the Fleet Marine Force, and with NATO Forces in Europe.

He planted a church in Naples, Italy, and was Senior Pastor for several growing military congregations in California, and was actively engaged in ministry throughout Northern and Southern Europe, in many places along the Pacific Rim, the Indian Ocean, and Africa.

Upon his retirement from the military chaplaincy, Bill assumed the position of pastor for Cornerstone Christian Center in Jamestown. During his time as pastor, he led the church through a number of property acquisitions, significant growth, and the reconciliation of the two local Assemblies of God churches. This produced a healthy, growing church that is presently engaged in reaching the region for Jesus. The congregation has quadrupled. Children’s ministry is vibrant and central. Commitment to missions has allowed the church to more than triple the number of missionaries supported with a budget that has grown over 400 percent.

In addition to Bill’s pastoral work, he serves as assistant presbyter of Western New York, a District Church/Pastoral Coach, an assessor for prospective church planters, a certified Natural Church Development (NCD) consultant, and an occasional guest lecturer for the Assemblies of God Theological Seminary, the local State University of New York, and Gideons International. He has also served as a District appointed mentor for pastors undergoing mandated rehabilitation.

Bill is married to the former Miss Valle Jo Zawistowski of Jacksonville, North Carolina. They have two daughters Constance and Julie. Bill and Valle make their home in Jamestown, New York.