Established in 1890, the name Mount Moriah honors the place in the Hebrew Bible where God tested Abraham's faith by asking him to sacrifice his son Isaac. It is also the place where Solomon's Temple was built and where the Temple Mount is located in Jerusalem. Mount Moriah is significant because it represents God's provision, forgiveness, and sacrifice.
Just as God provided a ram as a substitute for Isaac, this ministry has stood as a physical representation of the hope and determination of the African American spirit. We are a Spiritual Anchor grounded in a liberation tradition operating as a Baptist community of faith.
On the second Sunday in March 1890, the Reverend Sampson Eason called together a group for the purpose of having religious services in the Baptist tradition. The persons who established the foundation of Mount Moriah Missionary Baptist Church were Deacons J.D. McMoore, Claudius Ealy, and Will Pee; Brothers Emanuel Smart, Frank Byrd; Sisters Sallie McMoore, Annie Able, and Mary Able Treadway. They appointed the Second Sunday as Worship Sunday. Unfortunately, Reverend Sampson soon became sick and notified Reverend N.A. Hart to fill his appointment on the second Sunday in April.
Before the second Sunday in May 1890, Mount Moriah’s organizer, the Reverend Sampson, passed away. The Reverend Hart continued the organizing work with us until the fourth Sunday in June 1891. Mount Moriah then called the Reverend W.H. Styles, and Brothers J.B. Barry and Lane Walker gathered to organize us into a church. Having no house in which to meet, we obtained permission from the St. John A.M.E. Church of Pembroke, Georgia to organize in their house.
The first members of the newly organized church consisted of Brothers J.D. McMoore, Emanuel Smart, Will Pee, Sisters Annie Able, Sallie McMoore, Mary Neill, and Mary Able Treadway, these having obtained peaceful letters from Saint Phillips Baptist Church of Ellabell, Georgia. The new church was named Mount Moriah Missionary Baptist Church and the Reverend N.A. Hart was called as the first Pastor. The first candidates for baptism were Brother Daniel Able and Sister Maggie Able.
Special Dedication
Mother Elnora Simmons Corbett is the 2024 Recipient of the Eugene Amos Hagin Award for Meritorious Service to this Congregation. This year's Church Anniversary Service is dedicated to her in recognition of her steadfast devotion to Jesus Christ as an Ambassador of the Mount Moriah congregation.
ABOUT THE PROGRAM ART
First Sunday on the Cover is by Jonathan Green. One of the most influential and important painters of the Southern experience, Green exquisitely captures a sense of time and place. Green's work is drawn from the inspiration of the everyday life of the Geechee Gullah people of the Georgia-Carolina Low Country. Learn more.
