By Taylor Murray

Historians sometimes joke that they spend a lot of time with dead people. We listen to the voices of those who have long passed, and we learn what lessons they have to teach us.

And, where appropriate, we honour them.

On 4 July 2026, between 20–30 people gathered for a dedication service for a new grave marker for Washington Christian (1776–1850), founder and pastor of the First Coloured Calvinistic Baptist Church of Toronto.

This initiative was the brainchild of Chris Crocker (Lead-Elder of Markdale Baptist Church and Treasurer of the CBHS) and Glenn Tomlinson (Pastor of Sovereign Grace Community Church Sarnia), and was assisted by Dudley Brown (Member-at-Large with the CBHS).

Chris led the service in song, followed by a biography by Glenn and a prayer of Thanksgiving from Wendell Gibbs (Pastor of First Baptist Church in Toronto). Next, Chris gave a short reflection from Hebrews 13:7, and Dudley unveiled the new monument. The service closed with a prayer of committal by Paul R. Wilson (President of the CBHS).

I had the pleasure of taking the following photographs and videos of the event. As we gathered, we remembered the legacy that Christian left behind, and we listened for his voice, for “even though he is dead, he still speaks.”

If you wish to visit the grave marker for yourself, it is located in the Necropolis Cemetery (Q.15.s) in Toronto.

* * *

Taylor Murray, PhD, is Instructor of Christian History and Creative Producer of Distributed Learning at Tyndale University in Toronto. He is the Vice President of the Canadian Baptist Historical Society and Managing Editor of The Bulletin of the Canadian Baptist Historical Society.

**The views of this Blog represent those of the author, and not necessarily the CBHS.**