From Staff Reports
On Sunday, January 11, 2015 a naming ceremony took place at Faith Apostolic Church in the Powderly community to pay homage to Bishop Heron Johnson. Bishop Heron Johnson, 94, the Pastor of Faith Apostolic Church since 1986, still preaches every Sunday.
He is being honored by the City of Birmingham for the role he has played in the preservation of an endangered species of fish by the name of Watercress Darter. These fish are known to survive in springs of water that remain at the same temperature and they are approximately two inches long and have blue and red fins. Bishop Johnson inspired his congregation and many others to turn the spring in the Powderly Community which is a tributary of Valley Creek into a preservation area for the Watercress Darter, as well as helped create the Seven Springs Ecoscape Garden on the church’s campus.
The Freshwater Land Trust and the church reached an agreement in 2005 to permanently protect the Watercress Darter by turning its habitat into a meditation garden and an ecopark; the entrance into the ecopark features a watercress darter mosaic that is similar to the Ichthus which is a simple curved symbol in the shape of a fish that represents Christianity.
Bishop Heron Johnson leads by example and exemplifies the importance of all of God’s creation.
