Longtime Ocala pastor and community leader Lorenzo Edwards has died

Ocala/Marion County has lost a preacher, leader, mentor to many local pastors, and a rock for many: the Rev. Lorenzo Edwards.

Richard Edwards, retired Ocala Police Department captain and son of the famous preacher, told a Star-Banner reporter on Aug. 18 that his father died on Aug. 17. The elder Edwards was 88, his son said.

Edwards' death comes less than a month after the death of another community patriarch, Whitfield Jenkins.

In the interview with the younger Edwards, he said his mother died two years ago on Aug. 6, 10 days short of her and his father's 67th wedding anniversary.

For 50 years, the senior Edwards was pastor at Mount Moriah Missionary Baptist Church, which at one time was located in downtown Ocala. Historians say the church was established

in 1887 by former enslaved people to freely sing, pray and worship.

In 2008, as he celebrated his 40th year as head of the Mount Moriah, Edwards told a Star-Banner reporter “I had a divine urge burning in me. I had a vision and saw myself preaching and people listening to me the same as my minister.” 

About Edwards

Born and raised in Marion County, Edwards attended schools in the area and graduated from Howard High School. Edwards also was a graduate of the University of Florida.

Throughout his life, Edwards proudly served Ocala/Marion County and was hailed as a leader.

Some of his accomplishments include serving on the Ocala City Council for 10 years and twice serving as chairman; serving as a dean at Central Florida Community College; serving as NAACP chapter president; and working with the Ocala/Marion County Chamber of Commerce.

Before becoming a pastor, he had long been involved with Sunday school and other church programs. He felt the call to ministry despite a lack of public speaking and in-depth Bible training.

In the Civil Rights era, "Edwards participated in the sit-in protest at McCrory's (formerly on the corner of Magnolia and Southwest Broadway) in 1960," according to a Star-Banner article. It adds, "During the sit-ins, Black patrons who had been refused service at lunch counters previously took a seat and refused to leave until they were removed or arrested."

He was quoted in the same articlesaying: “I stood up along with my friends and community for our rights in nonviolent, peaceful protests but I was never physically touched.” 

From the same 2008 news article, Edwards said: “After 40 years it’s still burning. Doing the Lord’s work, for example visiting the sick, is labor with fulfillment. Preaching is a very moving experience — almost terrifying — an awesome responsibility you cannot take lightly.”

Tributes

After 50 years, Edwards, in another Star-Banner article, said: “All good things have to come to an end. This was not a job to me. This was a calling. Mount Moriah chose me, but God sent me, and I was on a mission from God.”

The Rev. Eric Cummings hailed Edwards as "a giant of a preacher, a community activist and mentor to us pastors." Cummings called Edwards' death as "another great loss to the community."

Ire Bethea Sr., Ocala City Council president, said Edwards was "an outstanding gentleman, a leader and an icon for the community."

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Bethea said Edwards was "a champion for civil rights," and "an advocate for the community who wanted equal rights and justice for everyone."

Contact Austin L. Miller at [e-mail]

This article originally appeared on Ocala Star-Banner: Longtime Ocala pastor and community leader Lorenzo Edwards has died