I was glad when they said unto me, “Let us go into the house of the Lord
Psalms 122:1-2

In 1896 a small group of people met in the home of Mrs. Anna Green, who lived on the corner of Eleventh Avenue and Eastchester Lane, for the purpose of organizing a colored Methodist church in Mount Vernon, New York, thus marking the founding of the first A.M.E. Zion Church in the city of Mount Vernon. Those present at the meeting were Brothers A. Lyle, Allen Banks, William Keeler, Charles Johnson, J. B. Underhill, Sisters W. H. Ely, R. A. Lyle, Maria Landrine, Nellie Thompson, Elizabeth Manigault and Anna Green. The first meeting place as a church was in a frame building on the corner of South Ninth Avenue and West Third Street. However documented evidence including information revealed in the publication, A Time to Remember authored by Mount Vernon historian, educator and cleric, Dr. Larry H. Spruill, indicates that the A.M.E. Zion Church was the first, independently organized African American religious group in Mt. Vernon. Dr. Spruill writes; “The fundraising drive to build an A.M.E. Zion Church was documented in The Chronicle a village newspaper, from 1869 – 1892 in descriptive announcements and articles on Black community life.” These facts allow him to conclude that, “the honor of pioneering Black religious life in the city of Mount Vernon belongs to the African Methodist Episcopal Zion congregation.

Based on Dr. Spruill’s research, the A.M.E. Zion church lead by Rev. Jacob Thomas, an A.M.E. Zion minister, had a presence in Mt. Vernon as early as 1868. Greater Centennial, however, looks to its official founding date as 1896, when under the leadership of the Rev. W. H. Ely the groups of members were organized into a church and Rev. Ely became the first pastor.

The Pastors of Greater Centennial A.M.E Zion Church

1899-1900 Rev. C. H. Williams

1900-1901 Rev. George Frances Green

1901-1903 Rev. Emory Thomas

1903-1907 Rev. R. A. Lye was the pastor. During his leadership the membership grew in which the property at 253 South Eighth Avenue was purchased and a new church building was erected

1907-1908 Rev. N. E. Ray

1908-1912 Rev. N. E. Collins

1912-1913 Rev. Johnson was the pastor at which time the church was given the name “Centennial A.M.E. Zion Church.”

1913-1924 Rev. Samuel S. Boyd

1924-1926 Rev. F. W. Riley

1926-1933 Rev. James R. White

1933-1934 Rev. J. H. Tucker

1934-1935 Rev. Blunt

1935-1946 Rev. Polk K. Fonvielle

1946-1967 Rev. Dr. Clinton L. Wilcox, Sr.

1967-1968 Rev. Dr. Clinton Hoggard

1968-1993 Rev. Dr. Belvie Holland Jackson, Jr.

1993 to present Rev. W. Darin Moore, one of Rev. Jackson’s sons in the ministry, appointed by Bishop Walker returned to Mount Vernon and now pastor’s his home church