Church history lesson

The Orange County African American Historical Society (OCAAHS) will feature nearly two dozen local churches in its Black History Month exhibit opening Jan. 29 at The Arts Center In Orange.
Beginning Jan. 29 and continuing through Feb. 25, "The History of the African American Churches of Orange County," panel exhibit will be on display in The Arts Center's Morin Gallery. The exhibit will feature the histories of 20 local African American churches.
"There'll be a map of the county to show the location of the churches, along with the churches' histories and pictures of each," OCAAHS President Ruth Mallory Long said.
Long has been organizing the panel exhibit. She said she hand-delivered invitations to 23 churches inviting them to participate in the exhibit. Of the 23, 20 responded.
"Someone from each church got [their church's] history together and submitted it," Long said. "Following the exhibit, those histories will be kept at the Orange County Historical Society so they'll be on-hand if anyone wants to look at them."
Long said she hopes other churches will join in and submit their information to the historical society. She also hopes the histories will be kept current.
"I hope they'll update them if something significant happens, like an addition or a mortgage burning service," Long said.
Local church history is something that has interested Long for some time. She said though she first came to Orange County years ago, she's always been curious about who attends churches in the county and how those worship centers got started.
"It's interesting for me to know the history behind each church," she said. "I think it binds our community together. Though many of us attend church, there are other churches out there and [it's nice] to share where each came from."
The panel exhibit is expected to stay up through Feb. 25. A special opening reception will be held Jan. 29, 2:30-4 p.m. and will include a performance by the Shady Grove Fifth Sunday Singers. Pastors Joseph Moore of Shady Grove Baptist Church, John Reid of Little Zion Baptist Church and Jack McCurry of Calvary Seventh Day Adventist Church are expected to attend. There is no admission fee to view the exhibit.
Offering a backdrop to "The History of the African American Churches of Orange County," will be the ongoing "Oh, Shenandoah!" exhibit which brings together winning photographs from contests held last year in celebration of Shenandoah National Park's 75th anniversary.
For more information, contact the Arts Center In Orange at 672-7311.