By Caleb Parke
Pastor Hattie Mae Allen just turned 105 but that doesn’t stop her from getting up and sharing the Word of God.
On Sunday, the Temple, Texas church she ministers at, simply called “Jesus,” honored for her more than five decades of pastoring. She has been delivering sermons mostly every week for 57 years.
For Allen, it was a family affair, with six generations represented. She is the daughter of a bishop and one of 12 children, five of whom became preachers. The church refers to her as “teacher.” She has dozens of grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and great-great-grandchildren, who call her “Grammer.”
“We put Jesus first,” Allen, who can be long-winded, said during her remarks delivered from a chair facing the congregation, as reported by the Temple Daily Telegram.
Ruth Freeman, one of Allen’s daughters, told Fox News it was beautiful to see her mother, who was raised in a family that read the Bible every day, live out a Scripture in Luke she focused on so many years ago when they arrived at Jesus church: “For I will give you words and wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict.”
Rev. Hattie Mae Allen celebrates her 105th birthday alongside family and friends. (Courtesy of Candace Freeman)
Freeman said: “For her to still be able to do that, and honor her at 105 and she still has that desire. That was just wonderful. That’s a blessing!”
The matriarch still lives on her own, or as she puts it, “me and Jesus,” where she hosts services for the church on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and if she’s feeling well, which is most Sundays, she will teach for whoever comes to the service at the church on the corner of 24th street and Avenue J.
Although Allen, ordained in 1962, never received a formal degree, she told the Telegram she has a Ph.D. in Jesus, and she has been with small congregations in Marlin, Calvert, Forth, Athens, Austin, and Temple.
“I have a pure heart’s desire,” she said. “And that is what God will honor in the end.”
