About us
Still we proclaim, to God be the glory for the great things He has done and is yet doing.
Collins Temple African Methodist Episcopal Church was founded in 1921 and was constructed on land owned and donated by the first pastor, Reverend Charles Harmon. The church began in a sparsely populated community located on Castle Hill Road in an area known then as Scarborough Switch.
Reverend Harmon and citizens in the vicinity built the church and performing the labor. They laid the foundation using cinder blocks, cut and sawed the timber used in the structure. Brother Jesse Gibbs, a lifelong member stated that the steps of the first church were built of lumber from the timber business of Ross Harmon who was an original member. According to Connie Harmon, when the church was completed in 1920, it was named in honor of Bishop William Collins who also laid the cornerstone. The opening of the church was celebrated and the building was dedicated to the service of the Lord with a full day of special services. The first pastor of the church was its founder, Reverend Charles Harmon, who began serving in 1921. By the year 1947, the church had about 15 faithful members.
Although small, Collins Temple African Methodist Episcopal Church became an inspiration to its members and those in the surrounding community. Sister Rosa Milbourne, a pillar of the church reminisces, “I was a little girl running around the church, but I remember those older people really knew how to shout. They used to have old fashioned pageant and camp meetings. The women would cook the food outside in one of those big, black, hog pots and carry the food into the church and serve the people. There were several families who helped to build the church and the women worked as hard as the men. There was one lady named Sally Stevenson who had her hand print in the mural over the door”.
Records in the assessment office in Snow Hill indicate that in November 1971 two bathrooms were added to the Church and in November 1975 a hall was added. Braddock Harmon of Horntown, Virginia was the carpenter for each of these additions. As the years passed, the Church grew and numerous pastors served at Collins Temple. Former Presiding Elder of the Baltimore District, Rev. Earle M. Brooks, recounted on January 19, 2011 that he began his tenure as pastor of Collins Temple A.M.E. Church exactly 42 years ago in the year 1969. He like others served at Collins Temple which was a part of the Georgetown Circuit formed of Collins Temple A.M.E. Church and through the years the congregation has been led and served by the following pastors: Rev. Charles Harmon, Reverends Bivens, Powell, Coston, Walden and Wheeler; Rev. Daniel Gale who is believed to have had the church admitted to the Baltimore Annual Conference; Reverend E.B. Johnson, Rev. Wade Williams, Rev. Frederick Jones who became the Presiding Elder of the Baltimore District, Rev. Atwood Foreman; Rev. Carl Manigault; Rev. Earle M. Brooks, former Presiding Elder of the Baltimore District, Rev. James Richards, Rev. Robert Bailey currently an Itinerant Elder in the Baltimore Conference; Rev. Walter Ward; Rev. Alan Gould now pastoring in the Washington Conference, Rev. Morris Reddon, now pastoring in the Virginia , Rev. Godfrey Patterson. In 2010, the church had appointed Her first woman, Rev. Veronica Reaves-Harvey. In 2011, the Presiding Prelate of the Second Episcopal District Bishop Adam J. Richardson, Jr. appointed Reverend Darryl Ford to the Church.
And it doth not yet appear what we shall be because we know that God is not through with us yet.