Rev. H. Maurice Barnes

Rev. Barnes, is a native of Wilson, NC having graduated from Ralph L. Fike High School. He went on to graduate from Wilson Community College (Wilson, NC), Shaw University (Raleigh, NC) and Duke University (Durham, NC).

Committed to community service, he has served, as a member or in positions of leadership, on a host of boards, commissions and organizations including the United Way, Sallie B. Howard School for the Arts & Education, the Black Caucus of New Hope Presbytery and the NAACP (National Association of Colored People), of both Wilson and Lenoir County.

Rev. Barnes’ international travels have lead him to such countries as Jordan, Greece, Egypt, Mexico and Iraq on missions of peace and justice as well travel/study tours of these and other international locations.

For more than 25 years he has served as the Pastor of the historic White Rock Presbyterian Church, USA (Kinston, NC). In February of 2022, he retired from the Wilson County School system (Wilson, NC) where he served as the Coordinator of the Gentlemen's Agreement and the district's Equity & Inclusion Initiative.

Additionally, he serves as the Chief Executive Officer of the Gertrude Wilson & William Pal Barnes, Fred Douglas Ellis and Dorothy Lee Pender Educational Foundation. The Foundation is 501(c)(3) tax exempt non-profit organization that endows scholarships and supports various education endeavors.

The apples of his eye are his two daughters, Maurissa Imani Barnes and Jimesha Zawadi Barnes.

More important than where he has been or what he has been blessed to experience, Rev. Barnes is a firm believer that in the final analysis, only what we do for Christ will last! We’ve all been gifted with graces & abilities to make the world a better place than when we first arrived...to God be the glory for the things He has done and is doing in the lives of all of His children!