REV. GLENN GRAYSON SR., WITH WIFE, MARSHA GRAYSON, AND FAMILY, ON SEPT. 18, 2026, OUTSIDE THE JERON X. GRAYSON COMMUNITY CENTER. (PHOTO BY GAIL MANKER)
Celebrating 30 years as pastor of Wesley Center AME Zion Church
Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2026, felt like an ordinary day in the City of Pittsburgh.
But it wasn’t.
Pittsburgh City Council, with everything including the kitchen sink on their plate, stopped to honor a man who, in many circles, needs no introduction. They honored the Rev. Glenn Grayson Sr., longtime pastor of Wesley Center AME Zion Church in the Hill District. Thirty years, to be exact, as pastor of the church.
But there’s more to Rev. Grayson than what he preaches inside those church walls at 2701 Centre Avenue. He’s probably known just as well for all the community work he’s done and continues to perform outside the church.
Pittsburgh City Council, led by its president, R. Daniel Lavelle, declared Sept. 22, 2026, as “Rev. Glenn Grayson Day” in the City of Pittsburgh.
REV. GLENN GRAYSON SR. WITH A PROCLAMATION FROM PITTSBURGH CITY COUNCIL.
“He’s already been recognized by President (Barack) Obama for his work, so this is rather small in comparison,” Councilman Lavelle said. “But nonetheless, he’s been serving this city for a very long time. We thought it was important to both recognize these years of service as a minister, as a pastor, as well as his service to the actual City of Pittsburgh.”
Councilman Lavelle lauded Rev. Grayson for strengthening Wesley Center’s congregation with his leadership, guiding major church renovations and enabling the church to retire its mortgage in 2000.
But back to that honor from then-President Obama…
In 2014, President Obama honored Rev. Grayson as a Gun Violence Prevention Champion of Change, one of only nine people in the country to receive the honor that year. Reverend Grayson traveled to The White House in Washington, D.C., and was on a panel discussion about gun violence prevention. In his hand was a copy of one of the New Pittsburgh Courier’s April 2014 editions, where it read that through the first three months of 2014, 15 of the 20 homicide victims recorded in Allegheny County were Black.
MANY MEMBERS OF THE GRAYSON FAMILY. (PHOTO BY GAIL MANKER)
“I say to people that ‘March Madness’ has nothing to do with the basketball court…March Madness is when (from January to March) 15 African Americans, 20 people total, lost their lives senselessly to gun violence. So ‘The Center that C.A.R.E.S.’ continues to advocate prevention. My wife (Marsha) and I have always opened our doors to children and families. Fourteen years ago (in 2000) I saw a need to work with prevention, to help young people, to encourage them, so ‘The Center that C.A.R.E.S.’ came into fruition from a vision of mine.”
Reverend Grayson also discussed at The White House on April 3, 2014, how he wears his late son Jeron’s Schenley High School MVP ring from the football team’s championship run.
“I won’t have that experience of him finishing college and getting married and giving my wife and I grandchildren,” Rev. Grayson said. “His brother (Glenn) Garrett and sister Shinora will never experience that bonding anymore. So we continue to advocate prevention, as we continue to touch lives.
“I tell the faith-based community, it could happen to anybody,” Rev. Grayson continued. “A gun doesn’t have a name on it. My wife’s an attorney, I’m a preacher, but a bullet can take a life, whether you are on public assistance or a millionaire. A gun senselessly can take innocent lives.”
Jeron Xavier Grayson died on Oct. 17, 2010, at age 18. He was an innocent bystander at a party near California University of Pa. when someone fired a gun and shot through the front door. He was home for the weekend from college at Hampton University.
The Jeron X. Grayson Community Center, which has been in existence for more than 12 years on Enoch Street in the Hill District, has been a central hub for enriching the lives of students, with an emphasis on preventing gun violence. It was also where, on Sept. 18, 2026, Rev. Grayson was honored by many members of the community for 30 years of service to Wesley Center AME Zion Church.
“I’m deeply humbled and honored to first, be here, and serve 30 years at Wesley Center AME Zion Church, and be the founder of ‘The Center that C.A.R.E.S.’ that’s served thousands of young people over the years,” Rev. Grayson said during his remarks in Pittsburgh City Council chambers, Sept. 22. Among those by his side were his wife, Marsha, son, Glenn G. Grayson Jr., and one of Rev. Grayson’s closest friends.
Reverend Grayson, the Brooklyn, N.Y., native, of which his distinct Brooklyn accent can still be heard at times, said that the “City of Pittsburgh has been wonderful to me and my family and in the memory of my son, Jeron X. Grayson, we receive this. We appreciate all that this city has done and enriched our lives, and we pray that we, along the way, have made a difference and impact in the lives of the people of this community.”
