Four generations of voices, a renewed call for community engagement and a vision for the future defined Mt. Olive Cathedral CME Church’s 145th anniversary celebration on Sunday, July 12.
From its humble beginnings in a location known as the “jug factory,” Mt. Olive grew over the years to become one of the city’s most important centers of faith, civil rights and community leadership. Sunday’s anniversary celebration reflected every chapter of that journey, honoring the church’s storied history while challenging the congregation to shape its next era.
The celebration blended traditional gospel music, young liturgical dancers and reflections from four generations who shared their hopes for Mt.Olive’s future.
Speakers celebrated the church’s history, from its founding by Rev. G.W. Armour in 1881 after years of holding Bible lessons in the jug factory on Georgia Avenue to its move in 1952 into the iconic neo-classical cathedral at the corner of what was then Linden Avenue (now Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue) and Lauderdale Street.
Mt. Olive served as a meeting place for the NAACP Memphis Branch, and welcomed Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. during a Southern Christian Leadership Conference gathering in 1957. It continues to serve as a gathering place for civil rights leaders, most recently national Atty. Ben Crump.
But while lauding Mt. Olive’s history, guest speaker Rev. Dr. L. LaSimba M. Gray Jr., pastor emeritus of New Sardis Baptist Church, reminded the congregation that history alone is not enough.
“Mount Olive was the epicenter of The Movement,” Gray said. “All of the NAACP meetings were held here. Downstairs is where they strategized.”
Recalling the church’s legacy of ministry beyond its sanctuary, Gray reflected on a time when Mt. Olive regularly addressed basic human needs of the community and posed a question that became the sermon’s central challenge.
“What if Mt. Olive took some steps around a one-mile radius to see what is going on?” Gray asked. “Find out what the community needs are.”
The celebration also emphasized the voices of younger generations.
The youngest speaker was 10-year-old Avery Rose Davis, whose simple but heartfelt vision for the future summed up the church’s most foundational need.
“My hope is for the church to be full and for the young people of the church to have a good connection with God,” she said.
Rev. Cameron Kuykindall, a senior at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, embodies the future of ministry. As co-chair of the anniversary celebration, he reflected on the significance of Mt. Olive in his ministerial training.
“Our history is important, and being here allows me to be mentored by a wonderful network of individuals who have my best interest at heart,” he said. “Being surrounded by this kind of history is important. However, we must do things in a new light and in innovative ways.”
Referencing Mt. Olive’s downtown neighborhood, he echoed Gray’s call for renewed community engagement.
Rev. Dr. Wayne A. Williams, completing his first year at the helm of the church, acknowledged its longstanding influence reaching far beyond its own membership.
“You are inevitably a giant in your own right, and you are historic in your own right,” Williams told the congregation. “Anyone who is a student of history cannot talk or reflect on the historicity of Memphis without including the church named Mt. Olive Cathedral CME Church.”
Sunday’s theme, “Honoring Our Heritage, Empowering the Present, Advancing Justice for the Future,” embodied Mt. Olive Cathedral CME Church’s enduring significance while challenging the congregation to embrace its legacy as a catalyst for hope, justice and service in the heart of Memphis.
