Rev. Troy Harrison, Sr.

Reverend Troy Fitzgerald Harrison, Sr., was born on February 15, 1964 and departed this life on Tuesday, May 2, 2017, at St. Frances Hospital in Greenville, South Carolina. He was preceded in death by his father, Henry Harrison and his mother-in-law, Williestine J. McClain.

He leaves to cherish his memories, college sweetheart of 34 years, Bernice M. Harrison; his children, Troy F. Harrison, Jr, Travis J. Harrison, Brittany T. Harrison, Brentton L. Harrison, and Brianna T. Harrison; his mother, Sarah W. Harrison of Varnville, SC; brothers, Marvin Harrison of Varnville, SC and Matthew Harrison of College Park, MD; sisters, S. LaTrell Harrison of Clermont, FL and Owillinda H. (Leo) Brooker of Aiken, SC; father-in-law, Isaiah McClain, Sr. of Kinston, NC; sisters-in-law, Rosemarie (Archie) Wallace of Greenville, SC, Shelly McClain-Dawson (Chico) of Greenville, SC, and Lillie T. (McRae) Harrison of Helena, GA; brother-in-law, Isaiah “Junebug” McClain of Kinston, NC; adopted children, Jarrett L. Dawson of Chapel Hill, NC, Justin K. Dawson of the home, Ibn M.T. McClain of Tacoma, WA; a host of aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, extended family, parishioners and friends.

Born and reared in Varnville, SC, Rev. Harrison was educated in the Hampton County Public School System. He attended Voorhees College in Denmark, SC, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics and a minor in Computer Science in May 1986. While enrolled there, he was a member of the Voorhees College Gospel Choir, and pledged Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc., in the Fall of 1983. He also served as an Acolyte in the St. Phillips Episcopal Chapel, participating in weekly services under the direction of Rev. Emmanuel Johnson, who was the College Chaplin at the time. Upon completion of his degree, he was hired as a Computer Lab Manager and was quickly promoted to Director of Alumni Affairs. He eventually became the Director of Records and Registration for the Registrar’s Office. Before leaving, Rev. Harrison served as an advisor for the Zeta Gamma Chapter of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc., for many years.

His passion for ministry was nurtured while attending Voorhees College, and his desire for ministry and education eventually led him to pursue a Master of Divinity. With such a love for education and being an educator himself, Rev. Harrison taught Mathematics at Whale Branch Middle School in Beaufort, SC and Estill High School in Estill, SC. To pursue his seminary education, Rev. Harrison attended both Duke University Divinity School located in Durham, NC, as well as Shaw Divinity School in Raleigh, NC, while serving at St. Joseph CME in Chapel Hill, NC. To further his education, Rev. Harrison also attended Philips School of Theology at The Interdenominational Center (ITC) in Atlanta, GA.

In 1993, Rev. Harrison preached his initial sermon at Blunt Chapel CME Church in Varnville, SC. His pastoral ministry commenced in 1997 at Canaan Fair CME Church in Williston, SC. In 2001, he was appointed to serve at St. Joseph’s CME Church in Chapel Hill, NC, where he was instrumental in the establishment of the St. Joseph Food Ministry, which is now known as Heavenly Groceries, serving over 3,000 households in four counties. He was also a renowned community leader whose abiding vision of "a church without walls" drove the establishment of a center dedicated to the vitality of historically Black neighborhoods in Chapel Hill, NC, known as the Marian Cheek Jackson Center for Saving and Making History. On April 29, 2017, his commitment to the beloved community was honored with an inscription in a historic Neighborhood Gateway.  The community is now marked with his immemorial words: "WHAT HAS SUSTAINED THIS COMMUNITY HAS NOT BEEN BRICK AND MORTAR," but it has been faith that has sustained this community.

In 2010, Rev. Harrison was appointed to pastor Israel Metropolitan CME Church in Greenville, SC. While there, he heavily influenced the establishment of the Helping Hand Food Ministry, which now serves those in the community on a weekly basis. In 2011, Rev. Troy Harrison, Sr., founded the Home Touch Ministry from which spiritual literature is mailed to members who are sick and shut-in and those living in assisted housing. He also instituted the Hour of Power worship service, which is held every 3rd Wednesday night alternating between Israel and its sister churches: Young Laymen CME and Mt. Olive CME. In addition, he initiated numerous ministries, including: Tent City for the homeless, One Church One School Partnership at Alexander Elementary School, monthly service at Greenville Rehabilitation and Healthcare Center for the elderly, A.C.E. Tutorial Program, P.L.A.C.E. Ministry focusing on spiritual gifts, monthly Family Night, Discipleship Training, and the reorganization of Noonday Bible Study. During the 2017 Spring Revival on Maunday Thursday, Rev. Harrison reenacted the Last Supper with a replica of the Triclinium. On Easter Sunday, for the first time in the 123-year history of Israel CME, Rev. Harrison baptized through immersion five “souls” who gave their lives to Christ.

​Wise beyond his years, yet always willing to learn, Rev. Harrison was an avid reader and enjoyed theologians such as Dietrich Bonhoeffer, H. Richard Niebuhr and Reinhold Neibuhr. He also enjoyed singing, preaching and traveling. He loved to laugh, tell jokes, and to see others smile. In heart, spirit, and action, Rev. Harrison was a Good Shepherd. No matter where he journeyed, no matter where the Lord appointed him to go, he always insisted "I AM HERE TO SERVE, NOT TO BE SERVED." He truly had a heart for people, and in all that he did for others, he remained humble, seeking nothing in return.