The Rev. Terrell Person delivers a sermon during the April 27 service at Jacob's Chapel AME Church in Mount Laurel.Â
Jacob's Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church sits a short distance from the crossroads of Elbo Lane and Mount Laurel Road in Mount Laurel.
Like his church, the Rev. Terrell Person is at a crossroads as well. He recently turned 75 and church rules say he must retire at that age from the pulpit, he told 70and73.com in an interview.
The 30 years that Person spent providing religious and historical services to the Mount Laurel community was an experience he said he never imagined for himself growing up in Palmyra.
"One of my mom's best friends said: 'That boy is going to be a preacher one day,'" Person said. "I did not want anything to do with that at the time," he said, adding that playing sports and games seemed much more important back then.
Person was speaking after services on April 27 inside the newer of the two churches at 318 Elbo Lane. The older church, which Person said was transported to Mount Laurel from Medford by a then-contemporary horse and buggy, sat a few yards away.
Person's favorite pastimes as a youngster reaped at least one benefit, he said. A seemingly ordinary game of pool on what Person described as a hot day in an acquaintance's garage turned extraordinary when he saw a woman named Toylene, known by most as Toy.
"She, her sister and her friend came in and (Toy) looked at me and said, "'That's mine.'"
The two married 53 years ago and would eventually have two sons — Rashon and Tahron — who are now married and have given the couple two daughters-in-law and six granddaughters.
Person said another event after meeting Toy was, with the benefit of hindsight, particularly ironic.
"My uncle, my dog Pippy and I were coming down (Elbo Lane)," he recounted of a drive long before he joined the Mount Laurel church. "The dog jumped out the window and ran across the field to chase a deer. We stayed out there for a long time. I happened to look across (the street) and it was this church," he said, waving his hand towards the roughly 20 pews and altar surrounding him.
The older Jacob's Chapel AME Church building, which the Rev. Terrell Person said was moved from Medford by horse and buggy, is on the left in this photo. The newer church building is on the right
Earlier this year, Gov. Phil Murphy commemorated the 50th anniversary of the Mount Laurel Doctrine, which helped set the standard for affordable housing, at the church.
The significance of the location where Pippy jumped out of the car extends further. Person's great-great-grandfather, Dr. James Still, who has also been called the "Black Doctor of the Pines," is buried behind the church.
Person said the fulfillment of the prophecy of his mother's best friend many years ago came a few years later when a pastor from Greater Mt. Pisgah Church of Haddonfield started using him in his ministry and then encouraged Person to follow the call God was sending him to become a minister.
After completing his education, Person was affiliated with a church in Sicklerville for a few years. Then, when Jacob's Chapel African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church needed a pastor, one of the Mount Laurel church's parishioners suggested Person assume that responsibility and he did so in 1995.
Soon after the Persons' arrival in Mount Laurel and finding a place to live in Hainesport, Person said he began looking for ways to enrich the lives of others, with Toy adding she would help when needed through the years while also working in the Camden City School District.
The manifestation of Person's vision took several forms.
One is Project Teach Inform Mentor Educate or Project T.I.M.E. Since its inception, the program has paired about 1,000 elementary and middle school students with trained community volunteers during the students' lunch hours to engage in activities such as playground time and tutoring. Person said the program is modeled in part after influences male relatives had on him when he was younger and when his father, who worked as a dockworker and truck driver, was not available.
Person said he also established the Jacobs Chapel Colemantown Foundation, which has as its goal the preservation, study and interpretation of Jacob's Chapel AME's history, the restoration of its historic buildings, cemetery and artifacts. This effort, according to Person, includes educational tours, historical reenactments and performances of the play he wrote and co-directed titled "If These Stones Could Talk." The play tells the story of a former slave whose children were taken from her by slave catchers and are reunited decades later.
Off and on through the years, the Persons have also operated a short camp for children that included participants taking trips to the library and researching what they thought they might want to do when they grew up. The Persons noted proudly that some of the participants followed through on their career-stated goals to become doctors and lawyers.
Of their lives' achievements, the Persons agreed that Project T.I.M.E. was probably the one they were most proud of.
"When you see the way that they enter into the program and the way they exit the program, it is tremendous," Toy said. "The benefits are wonderful. The kids' lives are changed. Some of their families have changed. It has helped decrease (school) absenteeism and their social lives have become more enriched."
During the interview, Person said a recent hacking of AME's national computers affected his pension, making an exact retirement date unclear, but it will likely be soon. Even so, he fully expects the initiatives he started while working in Mount Laurel will continue in one form or another.
The delay in Person's retirement did not stop community members from honoring him.
On March 22, dozens attended a retirement party for Person held at the Westin of Mount Laurel. According to some of those who went, multiple people shared stories of how the couple enriched their lives.
"The retirement party that I attended was amazing… and was packed," said Mount Laurel Mayor Nikitas "Nick" Moustakas. "(He) is so loved by everyone."
The accolades for Person continued during the Mount Laurel Township Council meeting on April 3, when Person was issued a proclamation for his work.
"I have been around this town working in one capacity or another for years," George Morris, Mount Laurel Township solicitor, said during the meeting. "You are one of the most influential people in this township, ever. …You have helped so many people. You have inspired so many people."
Person said he would do nothing differently if he had the chance to live his entire life all over again.
"You have to experiment with life to find out what you like," he explained. "I have no qualms about my life."
