Reverend Doctor Mae Etta Harrison A Life Full of Faith, Resilience and Dedication
This is a remembrance for Reverend Doctor Mae Etta Harrison, who passed away at the age of 77. It details her life, highlighting her commitment to family, faith, and education. The text emphasizes her strong moral character, evident in her unwavering dedication to her parents and community. Throughout her life, she pursued excellence in education and career, culminating in a fulfilling career as a minister and educator. The obituary concludes with a list of survivors and instructions for sending condolences, offering a final glimpse into her legacy of love and service.
For many years, as an ordained elder of the United Methodist Church, Reverend Doctor Mae Etta Harrison has preached sermons for family and parishioners alike. She often included in her sermons one of her favorite text taken from Ecclesiastes 3..."For everything there is a season, and a time for everything under Heaven.. " She began her season in this life on May 19,1942 and ended her time on June 29, 2019.
Mae Etta Brewington was born to the late Dumas and Eddie Mae Brewington on May 19, 1942 in Rockingham, NC. From this union, she was the first of seven daughters and third oldest of 14 children.
Along with her family, church and school made up her social life. Her first religious experience was at Green Lake Baptist Church where she was baptized, sang on the choir and experienced the life of the church nurtured by family and friends. She received her formal education at Mineral Springs Senior High School in Ellerbe, NC. At an early age, her teachers saw in her a gift that placed her at the top of her class and earned her leading roles in the elementary school closing plays as "Sleeping Beauty, '"'Little Red Riding Hood," and the high school play "Millie." She continued to excel, earning the highest average in the 8th grade. As she entered high school, the principal would often use her to serve as a substitute teacher. When the first honor society was created, she automatically was included as a member. However, at her graduation, her senior class sponsor deleted her name and did not list her as a recipient of the top 10 high scores of her senior year. Later, teachers who had taught her through the years and had served on the senior class committee, revealed to her mother that Mae Etta's name was omitted intentionally by the class sponsor because she thought that her parents would never be able to afford to send her to college and could not benefit from the honors she rightly deserved-another student was awarded her honors. Later, her report card revealed that she was not only in the top ten, but she was number one in her class. However, we know that we cannot tamper with the gifts that God puts within us-nor the rewards God will provide. After graduation, she came to Washington, D.C. where she continued to excel in all of her professions receiving honors and awards along the way.
Her position in her large family, caused her to develop a strong sense of integrity and a devoted sense of commitment to her parents for the many sacrifices they endured in supporting a large growing family. Consequently, she made it her life time task to assist her parents; keeping her mother's pantry stocked with canned goods and other items, providing continual financial support and other resources. This became a lifestyle of integrity and commitment which was exemplified in everything she did, causing her to stay focused and steadfast in meeting goals that would have been impossible for some.
One day while riding the bus up Georgia Avenue in Washington, D.C., she saw a 1966 candy apple red, fast back, Mustang displayed in the window of the Hanley Ford Car dealership. She fell in love with the car and said, "I have to have that car." Even though she did not have a license, did not know how to drive, she was determined that she was going to have that car. She went in to see the dealer and was able to convince him that she would and could make payments on this car. In spite of not having any credit history, he decided he would take a chance on her. Within a few weeks, she learned how to drive, got her license, purchased the car and drove the 375 miles back home to North Carolina. To help pay for her car, she got an additional part-time job at Sears and Roebuck. It was here that she met her life-time companion, Dr. Daniel Harrison Sr. The two of them became inseparable, building their lives together, being blessed with two sons, Daniel II and John Dumas, joining their first church and experiencing a new life in Christ under the leadership of Pastor Lorenzo and Deloris McKinney at the Washington Christian Center now located in Temple Hills, Maryland.
Her professional career has been varied and full. While working her way through college, she was employed by the Department of the Navy, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the Government Printing Office and the Office of the Federal Register. Her long time dream was to become a teacher. This dream was realized when she was hired as a teacher for the Montgomery County Public School System at Montgomery Blair High School in Silver Spring, Maryland. However, near the end of her first year, she was forced to leave her teaching career to care for her infant son, Daniel who had become ill with leukemia. Miraculously, God healed her son enabling her to continue to pursue her teaching career. She was later employed by Charles County Public Schools as a teacher and eventually became a Department Chairperson and coordinator of the Gifted and Talented program at Matthew Henson Middle School in Bryans Road, Maryland. It was here that she organized school plays, talent shows and Social Studies Fairs that embraced teachers and parents within the community.
It was also during this time she accepted a call into full-time ministry as a pastor in the the United Methodist Church. She spent the next 22 and a half years serving as a full-time pastor at Zion United Methodist Church in Lexington Park, Maryland, Van Buren United Methodist in Washington, D.C., Cedar Lane United Methodist Church in Mt. Rainier, Maryland and The United Methodist Church of the Redeemer in Temple Hills, Maryland. After retirement, in 2013 she served at Journey of Faith United Methodist Church in Waldorf, Maryland, and Shiloh Community United Methodist Church in Newburg, Maryland. Throughout her ministerial career and as a pastor, she was known for her enduring energy as she performed her daily pastoral duties which included conferences, workshops, and Bible studies. One of her crowning moments was being the recipient of a $350,000 grant which allowed her to organize a choir, a band and a new church worship service with new church members. Part of this grant allowed her to organize multiple annual Math & Reading Tutoring Summer Camp programs. She even drove the bus for three different camps taking the kids back and forth to their weekly swimming activities at Park and Recreational facilities. If that was not enough, she rented a truck and convinced her family to assist in driving to Pennsylvania to pick up computers from a United Methodist facility to furnish computer centers in all of her summer camp programs. Her personal motto was, "With God's help If you can conceive it, you can achieve it."
She received her Bachelors of Arts Degree from Howard University, Master's of Divinity Degree from Howard University Theological Seminary and her Doctorate of Ministry Degree from Wesley Theological Seminary all located in Washington, D. C.
Reverend Harrison leaves to cherish her memory, her husband Daniel of 49 years, two sons, Daniel II and John Dumas (Evangeline), a granddaughter, Ciana Harrison, five brothers, Thaddeus (Betty) of Springdale, MD, Curtis (Classie), Edward (Lisa) of Ellerbe, NC, Kevin (Jacqueline) and Albert Everett (Marie) of Rockingham, NC, six sisters, Deloris (Dwight) Hunter of Upper Marlboro, MD, Reba Brewington of Camp Springs, MD, Irene Waddell of Rockingham, NC, Ruby Shannon (James) of Pinehurst, NC, Loretta (James) Kelly of Snellville, GA, and Rosaline Asbury of Rockingham, NC. She was proceeded in death by her parents, three brothers, David Lee, George and Dumas Brewington, Jr. She is also survived by nieces, nephews, cousins, long time best friends Irma Meads of Washington, D. C., Cheryl Henderson of Upper Marlboro, MD, Edith Thomas of Fort Washington, MD, Mary Bolds of Cheverly, MD, close clergy friends, Reverend Eva Clark, Reverend Paula Payne and a host of other relatives and friends.
