Historic Baptist churches played pivotal role in liberation

TORONTO:

Two historic Baptist churches that are miles away from each other in different countries and have been around for two centuries were major centres in the liberation struggle of black people in Canada and Jamaica.

First Baptist Church Toronto, which was created in 1826 in Toronto, Canada, will celebrate its 200th anniversary this year; Burchell Memorial Baptist Church, in Montego Bay, Jamaica, was started in 1824 and commemorated its 200th anniversary in 2024 under the theme, ‘Honouring the Past, Celebrating the Present, Securing the Future’.

The journey of First Baptist Church Toronto has been one of resilience and perseverance. When it was established in 1826, it became the first, and now the oldest, black institution in Toronto. It was also the city’s first Baptist Assembly.

When Elder Washington Christian and 11 runaway enslaved people, who founded the church, fled north through the Underground Railroad in their quest for freedom, they followed the “drinking gourd” to Canada, which they saw as a promising, new land of opportunity. The native of Virginia had been ordained in the Abyssinia Baptist Church in New York in 1822.

Their worship meetings began on the shores of Lake Ontario or at the homes of members, then they met in a building on Lombard Street and had a mix of black and white congregants. The white members subsequently left for a different church which had a predominantly white membership.

Soon after, Elder Christian and the black church members moved to Queen Street and Victoria Street (now the site of St Michael’s Hospital) in 1841, where the church was known as First Coloured Calvinistic Baptist Church or Queen Street Coloured Baptist Church. The land was a gift from the family of Squires McCutcheon to build a church.

The Dictionary of Canadian Biography notes that a visit by Elder Christian in the winter of 1843–44 to Jamaica “was important” since “through the liberality of the Baptists in Jamaica, the chapel is free from debt”. The visit also underscored the place of the West Indies in the thinking of Upper Canadian blacks. He was able to pay off the mortgage.

Eventually, they moved to University Avenue and Edward Street in the neighbourhood, The Ward, in 1905 where the church was known as University Avenue Baptist Church. In the 1940s, they started using the name First Baptist Church, and in 1955 moved to Huron and D’Arcy streets, their current location.

Determined to be a cornerstone in the community, First Baptist Church Toronto remains committed to building on the legacy of the courage, vision and contribution to society of its founders.

Led by Reverend Dr Wendell Gibbs, its senior pastor since 2010, the church continues to share the story of its history and the contributions of Canada’s black community to society.

Dr Gibbs said the church is making plans to celebrate its 200th anniversary with several events and has also sent relief supplies to Jamaica in the aftermath of Hurricane Melissa.

In their book, The Underground Railroad: Next Stop, Toronto!, authors Adrienne Shadd, Afua Cooper and Karolyn Smardz Frost write: “ The church emerged as a leading centre of Black abolitionist activity. It sponsored anti-slavery lectures, and provided shelter, food, clothing, money and other forms of assistance to fugitives.”

Burchell Memorial Baptist Church was established in 1824 with 12 members under the care of the missionary the Reverend Thomas Burchell.

The Encyclopedia of Jamaican Heritage by Olive Senior notes that the original church was destroyed by mob action following the Slave Rebellion of 1831-32. The resistance was also known as the Emancipation War, the Baptist War and the Christmas Rebellion.

“This was the church at which Samuel Sharpe, the great slave leader, was a deacon. Burchell himself was saved from personal violence by the intervention of the Collector of Customs who found him temporary refuge on board a warship in the harbour.”

The Jamaica National Heritage Trust notes that, “ Although brutally crushed, the War acted as a catalyst for the passage of the Emancipation Act in 1833. Sharpe was hanged for his role in the War. He was initially buried in the sands near the Montego Bay Harbour, but his bones were later exhumed and reverently reburied in the vault at the Burchell Memorial Church where he had been a deacon.”

The cornerstones of the present church were laid on February 7, 1835.

At a thanksgiving service held on the eve of the start of the winter tourist season in Jamaica in December 2025, the church’s pastor, Reverend Davewin C. Thomas, beseeched the Government to consider faith tourism and establish a museum at the church to showcase its rich history.

At First Baptist Church Toronto, the Penny Hodge Heritage Room displays photographs, a bible from the 18th or 19th century, a chalice and other items of the church charting its 200th anniversary.