By Sylvester Robinson
On Sunday, May 17, 2026, Mt. Hermon AME Church of Fort Lauderdale will celebrate its 120th Glorious Anniversary with two Holy Ghost-inspired worship services honoring the church’s rich legacy of faith, leadership, and community activism. The celebration begins at 9:00 a.m. under the direction of Mt. Hermon’s dynamic and visionary spiritual leader, Rev. Henry E. Green III, affectionately known as “Pastor Trae,” who will deliver the morning message.
The anniversary celebration will continue at 3:00 p.m. with a powerful worship experience featuring Bishop Marvin Clyde Zanders, II, Presiding Prelate of the Eleventh Episcopal District of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. Bishop Zanders is expected to deliver a life-changing and inspirational message from on high.
Family, friends, and the entire community are warmly welcomed and encouraged to join the Mt. Hermon congregation as it commemorates more than 120 years of faithful service and courageous leadership in the ongoing struggle for social justice, fairness, and equality within the greater minority community.
Mt. Hermon has long stood as a beacon of hope and progress in South Florida history. In 1945, the church courageously opened its doors to host the area’s first NAACP meeting. Under the leadership of then-pastor Rev. R.L. Murrell, Mt. Hermon also served as a temporary headquarters for the NAACP during a dangerous and turbulent era in American history.
Those meetings were often held under the cover of night including one at 10 p.m. because, during those times, any effort by Black citizens to secure equal rights was often met with threats, intimidation, and violence. African Americans feared that gathering in homes, businesses, or churches for civil rights purposes could provoke retaliation from the Ku Klux Klan, including the burning of their property.
Yet Mt. Hermon refused to allow fear to dictate its mission then, and it refuses to capitulate today amid a political climate many view as marked by gerrymandering, voter suppression, and ongoing struggles for equal representation.
Please join us for both services as we celebrate 120 years of a storied past, a challenging present, and a promising future.
