The Honorees

Two lives, one legacy of faith

Honoring The Reverend Dr. Bishop Leroy Hawthorne and Pastor Herma Hawthorne on their 70th birthdays.

Celebrating his 70th birthday

The Reverend Dr. Bishop

Leroy Hawthorne

Seventy years of life, faith, and calling. Family, friends, colleagues, and church communities gather with gratitude for all that his life has meant to so many.

Celebrating her 70th birthday

Pastor

Herma Hawthorne

Seventy years of grace, faith, and calling. We celebrate her with joy, and with thanks for the love and care she has shared with family, friends, and church community alike.

In Her Own Words

How we met

Some sixty years ago, two small children were dropped off at Zion Basic School in Jamaica. Pastor Herma tells the rest of the story.

“Decades after, we came to find out that we were destined to be married, destined to be parents, destined to be ministering together.”
Pastor Herma Hawthorne

A tribute from Pastor Herma Hawthorne · 3 minutes

Read the transcript

One of the questions I get asked very often is, how did you meet? Well, like everything else with me, it’s a story.

My grandma dropped me off at the Zion Basic School 60 or so years ago, and somebody dropped him off. That’s how long we’ve known each other. We were in the same Sunday school, the same primary school, the same high school, the same classes, the same teachers.

And decades after, we came to find out that we were destined, destined to be married, destined to be parents, destined to be ministers, destined to be ministering together, destined to be life changers. And here we are today, still pursuing our purpose, our God-given destiny.

There are just a few choice words that summarize who Leroy Hawthorne is. I can think of two immediately, and one is, he’s consistent. If you know him, you know he says what he means, and he means what he says, and he does not flip-flop. I respect and love that about him.

And I would summarize today, his very big birthday, in a few words. If there’s ever a couple that has striven to become one, then that’s us. And if there’s a man that is loved and adored, then that’s Leroy Hawthorne, my pet. If there is a wife that is well taken care of, then that’s me.

And my other word today is, he’s just the best. And that’s what I would summarize him as today. In all categories, he’s still tops.

And so as I wish you a happy birthday today, I tell you all the time what a blessing you are to me and what a blessing you are to us. With all my love and all my heart, happy birthday. You already have the blessing of Joshua, so I need not wish you anything. Because when you give God your all, He gives you His all. And you’ve got God’s all. God bless you.

Two Lives, One Celebration

A shared milestone

Together

A celebration of two people, two seventieth birthdays, and the family, friendships, and church community gathered to honor them.

Their Story

A journey of faith

Jamaica
Where it all began

They met as small children at Zion Basic School in Jamaica, some sixty years ago. From there they shared the same Sunday school, the same primary school, the same high school, the same classes, and the same teachers.
1979
Two lives become one

They were joined in marriage in 1979, beginning a partnership of love and faith that has lasted more than four decades.

Their wedding day, 1979 Sealed with a kiss
Family
Blessed with five children

Together they raised a family of five children, the heart of the legacy this celebration honors.

The early years Side by side at home
Ministry
A shared calling

“Destined to be ministering together,” in Pastor Herma’s words. As The Reverend Dr. Bishop and Pastor, they have served side by side, still pursuing their God-given purpose.

A portrait together
2027
Seventy years of grace

On January 31, 2027, family and friends gather to celebrate two seventieth birthdays and a legacy of faith.