Walter is our church organist at the church I pastor in Littlerock, California.
A couple of Sundays ago during the kids message, one of the tiny munchkins of the congregation walked up to where Walter usually sits next to the church organ. As the kids message was taking place, this little one walks up to Walter and climbs up on his lap. She sat on his lap until the kids message was over and until Grandma walked up and took the sweet child to the church nursery. I happened to have my blackberry handy at the time and grabbed this shot of Walter and this sweet child. The picture setting at the time I took this was set to Black & White. If you look closely at the picture, you’ll see Walter smiling down on the child.
Walter is originally from the east coast where he was born and raised in New Jersey. He moved to California with his parents in 1954 and resided in the City of San Fernando for a number of years. He has a Bachelors Degree in Art and recorded his first radio recording at the age of 18 for a local radio station.
Walter came to the Lord as a young child and was baptized at the Second Baptist Church in Los Angeles at the age of 6. Walter is a lover of music and has a wonderful gift in singing and in playing the church organ and piano. His first piano lesson was at the age of 7. At the age of 14 Walter started playing the organ at St. Phillips Lutheran Church in Pacoima. Years later in the mid 1980’s he would assist in the praise band at the Shadow Hills Presbyterian Church because of his ability to play the piano and his unique sound as a gospel singer.
Walter Bolen has been part of our church for close to 20 years. He first moved to Littlerock in 1988. It was in 1991 when he first attended our church here in Littlerock looking for a new church home for him and his family. Upon his arrival, literally on the first day, Pastor Bob Frisbee learned of Walter’s talent in playing the piano and organ and put him right to work on the piano playing alongside one of our church members who at the time was the church organist. He hasn’t stopped playing the piano and organ in church ever since.
In 2002 and with the encouragement of Pastor Krin Van Tatenhove and friends in the Littlerock church, Walter made his first CD. In 2003 Walter was diagnosed with kidney failure followed by congestive heart failure and was put on dialysis. Blindness in one eye along with Glaucoma began immediately, but he still sees well enough to get around and because of his God given gifts in playing the organ and the piano he is still able to help lead our church in worship each and every Sunday. Walter is currently on a list to receive a kidney transplant at UCLA, but is unable to receive one until he finds an appropriate support team that will help him during recovery.
On many of occasion Walter for our special music time, right after the message and being led by the Holy Spirit will pick the most appropriate song that he’s either written or has in his repertoire of music that relates with the message for the morning. Walter is loved by many and has a wonderful heart for people and most of all a pastors’ heart. Walter has served as an Elder in our church and continues to have a love for our church and the community God has placed the church in.
I recently talked with Walter and he shared that our church has been one “big family” who has walked with him through his kidney failure and through a divorce. What I love about Walter is his ability to listen and his honesty. He’s not afraid to tell you the truth and something that frustrates him most about Christians is the hypocrisy as Christ followers that we all struggle with sometimes. Just the mere fact that he is able to take one of the sermons I preach and come up with a song that continues with the proclamation of God’s love until we disperse is an amazing gift and I know many pastors who would love to have someone like Walter.
Walter has an amazing testimony and I know that I am not alone in saying that, “Walter we love you brother and thank God for you and your heart for worship.”
If you’d like to hear some of Walt’s music, visit his website. I know he’d appreciate it if you’d listen to what God has blessed him with. In each song you’ll hear his testimony loudly and sense his heart for loving Jesus.
