Huntington street named for Bishop Norris Porter of Christian Charities Deliverance Church

Those who knew Bishop Norris Porter, widely recognized as a spiritual and community leader in Huntington, describe him as a remarkable and selfless person — a “man of God.”

On Saturday, dozens of friends, family, congregation members and town officials reflected on Porter’s contributions to the community at a street renaming ceremony on Spring Road, which was renamed Bishop Norris Porter Way.

“It is a fitting tribute to rename Spring Road, the road leading to Christian Charities Deliverance Church, to Bishop Norris Porter Way, Spring Road, as an acknowledgment to his dedication and service to the people and the community he loved and inspired,” said Huntington Councilman Salvatore Ferro.

Porter, who died in 2022, co-founded Christian Charities Deliverance Church in 1974. He was also president of the Huntington Clergy and a speaker on Long Island Radio Ministry, and, on an individual level, he helped local residents with housing issues, food insecurity, drug and alcohol rehabilitation and job opportunities, said town officials. 

“I’d say 40 years, I’ve known Bishop Porter. And my earliest recollections of him were conversations he had with my mother at our dining room table about the community, and things that could be done to enrich our presence in the community and how we were advancing,” said Huntington Receiver of Taxes Jillian Guthman, who initially proposed renaming the street in Porter’s honor.

She drives down Spring Road at least twice a day, she said, and the renaming will provide the opportunity to reflect on Porter, “who has enhanced our community in so many ways.”

Porter was born in Florida in 1939. His family moved to Huntington in 1940, where Porter “helped his mother raise his siblings as she managed and operated several businesses,” said Ferro.

Porter graduated from Walt Whitman High School and Suffolk Community College before working in law enforcement as a narcotics detective for the state. He married in 1962 and had one daughter. 

Besides co-founding Christian Charities Deliverance Church, he also established churches in Bay Shore, Central Islip, Arizona, Florida, Mississippi, Virginia, Texas and Puerto Rico. 

“He was certainly a man of prayer,” said the Rev. Bernadette Watkins, pastor of Huntington Outreach Ministries, who recalled memories of their community work together. “I'd come down to the church sometime in the afternoon, and he would just be there praying. I think sometimes he slept there.”

“He's always been true. He's always been kind. And he's always been a gentle man. And he will tell the truth,” she added. 

Claude Molloy, 34, of Huntington Station said as a lifelong member of Christian Charities Deliverance Church, he looked up to Porter.

“He would be very proud to be honored today,” he said. “He deserved it. He was a pioneer in our community.”

RyAnn Hermon-Manigo, 44, drove from her home in Brooklyn to be at the ceremony on Saturday. Hermon-Manigo, who grew up in North Babylon, said Porter was her pastor since she was 19. 

He loved music, she recalled, and he never left his house without a suit.

“I miss him,” she said.

By Brianne Ledda

brianne.ledda@newsday.com@brianne_ledda

Brianne Ledda covers the Town of Islip for Newsday. She previously covered Southold and Greenport for The Suffolk Times and is a graduate of Stony Brook University.