St. Lawrence African Methodist Church and the Mosley House

St. Lawrence African Methodist Church and the Mosley House. . , The history of the current St. Lawrence African Methodist Episcopal (A.M.E.) Church is represented by the present church structure as well as by the home located on Kennedy Boulevard, opposite the church sanctuary. Founded in 1881, the St. Lawrence Church is older than the Town of Eatonville. In fact, it is one of the oldest African American churches in the metropolitan Orlando area. The church was organized by the early settlers who populated the area that would later become Eatonville because they wanted a place of their own where they could worship. The congregation named the church in honor of Lewis Lawrence, a Maitland resident who gave land on which the church was built. The "African Methodist Episcopalian" portion of the church's name reflects its affiliation with the oldest and one of the largest religious denominations of African Americans in the United States., "In the pause we could hear Pa Henry over in the church house sending up a prayer: …You have been with me from the earliest rocking of my cradle up until this present moment. You know our hearts, our Father, And all de range of our deceitful minds, And if you find anything like sin lurking in and around our hearts, Ah ast you, My Father, and my wonder-workin' God to pluck it out And cast it into de sea of Fuhgitfulness, Where it will never rise to harm us in dis world Nor condemn us in de judgement… , , Zora Neale Hurston, Mules And Men, (captions) , The present church building, completed in 1974, is located on the original church land. Mounted on the sanctuary walls are 8 one-or-a-kind paintings, which were originally housed in the earlier church. The murals portray Eatonville residents in everyday settings. They are shown reciting the 23rd Psalm in dialect typical of rural, southern African Americans in the early 1900's. The paintings were donated to the congregation about 1936 by Andre Smith, founder of the Maitand Research Studio., The Moseley House, located to the rear of the old St Lawrence Church building, is significant for several reasons. First, it is one of two remaining examples of a pre-1900 wood frame structure typical of the Town. Secondly, the house associated directly with the descendants of two first generation Eatonville families - the Clarkes and the Moseleys. Mrs. Matilda Clarke Moseley was the niece of Joe Clarke, Eatonville's founder and second mayor. She was married to Jim Moseley, son of Eatonville's fourth mayor, Sam Moseley. Zora Neale Hurston called her "Tilly" for, as Miss Matilda recalled, they were regular little old buddies from childhood. Whenever Zora returned to Eatonville, she was a frequent visitor to the Mosley home.