By LORETTA FULTON

The last time two historic Black Baptist associations gathered in Abilene it was a year before COVID disrupted the world.

The 2019 meeting wasn’t planned to be the last for a while, but that was before COVID hit in 2020. So, the upcoming sessions will be a joyful reunion for the people gathering to worship, learn, hear guest speakers, and celebrate being together.

The opening musical will begin at 7 p.m. Monday, June 26, at King Solomon Baptist Church, 1050 Minda St. Representatives from two historic associations will be present for the 120th Session of the Original West Texas Baptist District Association, Inc., and the 109th Congress of Christian Education.

This year’s venue will be different from in the past when the opening musical was held in a church and convention sessions were held at the Abilene Convention Center. This year, the opening musical will be at King Solomon Baptist Church and conference sessions will be held at Mt. Zion Baptist Church, 520 Stafford St. 

“We’re going to start over from scratch,” said Andrew Penns, pastor of Valley View Missionary Baptist Church and moderator of the OWT Baptist District Association. 

Rev. Andrew Penns

Sessions for men, women, and youths will be held Tuesday through Friday. Penns will step down as moderator during the convention and a new one will be installed. He was supposed to have stepped down in 2020, but agreed to stay on until the churches could meet again. 

Penns not only is a local pastor, he’s also heavily involved in the community. He is founder and director of the Curtis House Cultural Center, 630 Washington St., which houses newspaper articles, relics, photos, and other memorabilia that tells the story of the contributions made by Black resident to the development of Abilene. Penns also is a member of the Taylor County Historical Commission. Although he won’t be moderator anymore, he still will be active with the association.

“I’m still going to play a part,” he said.

Loretta Fulton is founder and editor of Spirit of Abilene