On 15 April 2023, the Canadian Baptist Historical Society met for its annual general meeting (AGM) at Jarvis Street Baptist Church in downtown Toronto. It was the first opportunity to gather in person since 2019. With twenty-five attendees (both in person and online), it was the society’s highest attendance at an AGM to date.

Paul R. Wilson, the President of the CBHS, opened the meeting with words of welcome. He spoke briefly about the society’s book series and the status of the next edition, The Black Baptist Experience (edited by Dudley Brown and Gordon L. Heath), which is currently at the peer review stage. Following Paul’s welcome and report, Doug Adams gave the treasurer’s report, which is available here. As part of its regular business, the society also elected Dudley Brown as Member at Large.With the conclusion of the business portion of the program, the society heard four presentations from the CBHS’s forthcoming volume on Black Baptists in Canada.

The first paper was “‘It has Pleased God to Make us of a Different Colour’: Black Baptists in Victoria, British Columbia, 1876–1881” by Taylor Murray.

Glenn Tomlinson presented the second paper, titled, “Washington Christian (1776–1850) and the Founding of the First Coloured Calvinistic Baptist Church of Toronto.”

Newly-elected Member at Large, Dudley Brown, presented the third paper, “The Underground Railroad and its Intersection with the Black Baptist Church in Canada.”

The fourth and final paper was Gordon L. Heath’s “National Identity in the African Baptist Association, 1855-1914.”  

The next AGM is scheduled for Heritage College and Seminary in April 2024.