Mount Moriah Missionary Baptist Church
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Mount Moriah Missionary Baptist Church was founded in 1886 and was the first Black Baptist church organized in Winter Park, Florida. Originally, the church began at the home of Reverend Charles and Mrs. Missouri Ambrose on Pennsylvania Avenue in the towns predominately African American Westside.
The church presented the community with a safe place to form close friendships and offered a number of wholesome activities for children and adults. Clyde W. Hall, a member of the church, recalls that, “the church also provided a place where African-Americans could dress in their best attire on Sundays and enjoy equality without encountering the racial deprivations of everyday living in the South at that time”[1] The first minister to lead the congregation was Reverend Charles Johnson Smith, who came to Mount Moriah in 1887. Reverend Smith’s position as a moderator of the First Florida Missionary Baptist Association helped allow the developing church to be granted membership to the organization in 1910. Reverend Smith continued to faithfully serve Mount Moriah until 1911. From the time of its founding in 1886 to 1935, the membership of Mt. Moriah blossomed. “Soon the Ambrose’s home could no longer accommodate the number of people attending the church. So, until the church had a building of its own, it held meetings on alternate Sundays at the Winter Park Town Hall.”[2] On March 16, 1888, the Trustees of Mt. Moriah purchased Lots One and Three of Block Seventy from the Winter Park Company for a church site. These lots, which are located on the southwest corner of West Lyman and Pennsylvania Avenues, are now the home of two church buildings. “On April 26, 1912, Mt. Moriah Baptist Church also purchased for $165.00 from Charles and Helen Morse of Chicago, Illinois Lot Thirteen in Block Sixty-nine to locate a parsonage on West Comstock Avenue.”[3]
“In 1935, the funds from the estate of William A Coursen enabled Mt. Moriah to build its present sanctuary. The edifice was built at a cost of $8,500. Rev. I.C. Nimmons, the Church’s seventh pastor, provided leadership over the building project. Rev. Nimmons instituted the first Missionary Society, the Junior Church, and the Junior Choir.”[4] The construction of the new church building was conducted by the African-American Ford Construction Company of Orlando. Since many local citizens were employed by this company, the assembly of the building helped bring the community together and gain enthusiasm for the new chapel.
William A. Coursen was a graduate of Princeton University and a long established citizen of Winter Park, Florida. In Coursen’s final Will and Testament he wished to have his entire estate auctioned off, and have the funds that were appropriated divided equally amongst a number of beneficiaries. These beneficiaries included the Salvation Army, the Red Cross of Orlando, and The Public Library of Winter Park. Also, funds were allotted, “To all the churches of Winter Park irrespective of creed, color or denomination any church home, the House of God.”[5] Following Coursen’s death in early 1934, each church in Winter Park, including the seven African-American Churches, received a donation of approximately $8,500. “With this money every African-American Church in Winter Park built a new edifice in 1935 or 1936, except Wards Chapel A.M.E. Church who used its money to improve its present structure and purchase additional property.”[6]
This new edifice allowed church involvement and programs to flourish. Between 1941and 1946, under the leadership of Rev. L.A. Pelham, Mount Moriah’s eighth pastor, the church began conducting regular mass every Sunday. Many new church programs developed over the years which further increased community involvement in the church. Such as the Young Adult Choir (organized in 1959) and the Junior Women Missionary Society (organized in 1971).
Today, Mount Moriah Missionary Baptist Church is lead by its eleventh pastor, Rev. A. C. Cobb. “Like many Black churches across the nation, Mt. Moriah is facing an aging congregation and tackling the job of finding younger members.”[7] The church presently boasts a congregation of approximately 150 members, of which a large portion is over fifty years old. Mt. Moriah recently celebrated its one hundred and twentieth anniversary in 2006. With continued support, Mt. Moriah hopes to remain a landmark in the Winter Park community for years to come.
Church leadership
- Rev. Smith (1887-1911)
- Rev. J.M. Mells (no dates available)
- Rev. Steward (no dates available)
- Rev. J.J. Collins (no dates available)
- Rev. V.S. Summers (until 1928
- Rev. R.C. Jones (1929-1930
- Rev. Nimmons (1930-1941)
- Rev. L.A. Pelham (1941-1946)
- Rev. King Solomon Wilson (1946-1981)
- Rev. Clarence R. Taylor (1982-1989)
- Rev. Alphonzo C. Cobb (1989-present)
References
- ^ Hall, Clyde W. 2005. African-American Churches. An African-American Growing Up On The West Side Of Winter Park, Florida 1925-1942: 9-12
- ^ McCloud, Rebekah. 2004. One. Across the Tracks, a Collective History of Black Churches of Winter Park: 21-27
- ^ Hall, Clyde W. 2005. African-American Churches. An African-American Growing Up On The West Side Of Winter Park, Florida 1925-1942: 9-12
- ^ McCloud, Rebekah. 2004. One. Across the Tracks, a Collective History of Black Churches of Winter Park: 21-27
- ^ Hall, Clyde W. 2005. African-American Churches. An African-American Growing Up On The West Side Of Winter Park, Florida 1925-1942: 9-12
- ^ Hall, Clyde W. 2005. African-American Churches. An African-American Growing Up On The West Side Of Winter Park, Florida 1925-1942: 9-12
- ^ McCloud, Rebekah. 2004. One. Across the Tracks, a Collective History of Black Churches of Winter Park: 21-27