Clayton Powell Jr., the son of the previous pastor succeeded his father, the Abyssinian Baptist Church had 7,000 members. In 1972, Samuel DeWitt Proctor became senior pastor. In 1989, Calvin O. Butts became senior pastor, serving until his death in 2022. Music The church was an important site for religious music during the Harlem Renaissance, and remains a center of the Harlem gospel tradition. Fats Waller played the organ at Abyssinian when his father, Edward Martin Waller, was a minister at the church. Among many important events, the church conducted the wedding of Nat King Cole and his bride Maria, and the funeral of "The Father of Blues", W.C. Handy, in 1958. Abyssinian Development Corporation In 1989 Butts founded the Abyssinian Development Corporation (ADC), creating a non-profit arm of the church to work on community development and social services. It has created $500 million in development, including the first new high school in Harlem in 50 years, the first large supermarket, a retail center, and housing. See also Barbershop Quartet, (2007) health outreach program References Notes Further reading External links Official website (church) Official website (development corporation) Religious organizations established in 1808 Harlem Churches in Harlem Baptist churches in New York City Baptist organizations established in the 19th century 1808 establishments in New York (state) African-American churches New York City Designated Landmarks in Manhattan 20th-century Baptist churches in the United States National Baptist Convention, USA churches