Pastor Jay Gooding, Sr.: A beacon of community and hope in the Bronx

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Leading by example. Establishing models. Transforming sorrow into success.

These are principles that Pastor Jay Gooding, Sr., 63, abides by. His perseverance comes from turning emotional pain into purpose, improving the quality of life for everyone in the community.

“I would like to see gun violence eradicated,” Gooding said. “My main purpose right now is dealing with that … when a husband loses a wife he’s called a widower. When a wife loses her husband, she’s a widow. Children that lose their parents are called orphans. But there’s no name for when a parent loses a child. You can’t find it in the dictionary. … because of that pain, it turned my pain into purpose.”

For the past 28 years, Gooding has been a pillar of commitment and volunteerism. In addition to serving as the spiritual leader of the Fellowship Tabernacle in Williamsbridge and the Miracle Revival Temple in Mount Eden, Gooding has dedicated his life to fighting gun violence, promoting peace, and improving neighborhoods through “outdoor crusades,” which provides food pantries, facilitates clothes donations, and distributes bibles to all that wish to receive the word of Christ. Beyond the boundaries of his churches, Gooding’s work reaches far into Bronx neighborhoods where his presence is revered and transformative.

“My faith is everything. I’m a firm believer that faith without works is dead. That’s the biblical scripture,” Gooding said. “Everything I do is through faith and my belief in God. It’s in my personal life and certainly in my professional life. We walk by faith and not by sight.”

Gooding’s involvement with Jacobi Medical Center’s anti-violence program, Stand Up to Violence (SUTV), is the cornerstone of his community service. In early 2014, Sen. Jeff Klein, along with other government officials, medical experts, religious leaders, and community advocates, launched a project, known as SNUG (guns spelled backward). Every time there is a shooting, SNUG’s goal is to stop retaliatory violence by using its trained personnel to arbitrate disputes. Gooding plays a crucial part in advocating for peace and calling for an end to the bloodshed by organizing rallies within 72 hours following incidents of gun violence. His leadership has increased the program’s impact by providing countless others with hope and healing.

“We do an annual peace walk during Gun Violence Awareness Month,” Gooding said. “We just had our 11th ‘Peace Walk’ this past Thursday [Jun. 12]. We saw the need [for the SUTV program] because, I was already doing eulogies and funerals and so seeing the need of mothers is why I was so concerned with losing our youth, and even now we see a 194% increase over the last three years in shooting victims that are coming through Jacobi Hospital, which is now the leading cause of death in the America, especially in the Black and Brown community. [The leading cause of death] for babies were car accidents, but now it’s gun violence.”

Gooding’s commitment to reducing gun violence has also been evident through his churches’ participation in the Bronx’s gun buyback initiatives. In 2009, Miracle Revival Temple partnered with the Bronx District Attorney’s Office and the New York Police Department as one of the six venues for the initial Gun buyback program. In 2016, Fellowship Tabernacle hosted another event where 99 firearms were surrendered. These programs, aimed at reducing the prevalence of illegal firearms on Bronx streets, are an extension of Gooding’s vision for a safer and more harmonious community.

“We have seen in our catchment areas, and where we are located right now, the 49th, 47th, and the 43rd Precincts [New York Police Department]. We have seen a decrease in our catchment areas over the last 11 years of 50% in those catchment areas,” Gooding said. “The decrease in shooting is what our organization does. We have what we call outreach workers or violence interrupters, and we work out of our base in Jacobi Hospital. When there’s a shooting victim that comes to the hospital, we have some of our hospital responders or violence interrupters make sure that they try to talk down to the friends that’s coming in, that there will be no retaliatory shootings. That’s the reason that we have seen statistics that the police won’t show, but we are seeing in our catchment areas of 50%.”

Gooding’s dedication to community service goes far beyond his anti-violence advocacy. He has held numerous leadership positions that underscore his commitment to public welfare, including serving as president of the 49th Precinct Clergy Council and as a member of the executive board of the 44th Precinct Clergy Coalition from 2002 to 2008. Additionally, he is an executive with Chaplains Helping in Police Situations (C.H.I.P.S.). His efforts have garnered significant recognition, including the 49th Precinct Community Council’s Tom Twyman Citizen of the Year Award in 2009 and the NYPD Partnership in the Community Award in 2013.

“For me, as a person, as a father, as a grandfather, as a husband, I just want to see people transforming their own lives [for the better],” Gooding said. “I had four kids. I have three sons; my daughter Latiesha is deceased. She died in 2020 from an accidental overdose. My wife Nicole Stacey Ann Gooding of 37 years, we just recently celebrated our 37th wedding anniversary. She has the ministry of health. My baby son plays the organ for our ministry. His name is Jayme Gooding. There’s Jay Jr., he has his own church. My middle son plays the drums for me. His name is Vaughn.”

Gooding’s work from fighting violence to supporting families and neighborhoods, has left an indelible mark on the Bronx. His efforts continue to inspire others to cultivate peace, hope, and unity in a world often fraught with challenges. Through his commitment to service, Gooding has built bridges between law enforcement, community members and faith-based organizations, proving that collaboration and compassion can create lasting change.

“It all starts in the home, and I think we’ve lost that control,” Gooding said. “I think parents have lost that control of their home. My father used to tell us, ‘Say something and I’ll leave it at these three places where children are going to learn.’ First of all, the home, [then] the school, and the church. I think over the years now we’ve lost that control of that respect in all three aspects. If children are not going to respect their parents, they’re not going to respect anyone else. I think that’s been the biggest breakdown. If we can try to help parents, even in the rearing of their children, I think that would be a great thing as we commemorate Gun Violence Awareness Month.”