Mt. Zion Baptist Church of Germantown celebrated the joyous occasion of the 20th Pastoral Anniversary of the Rev. Dr. Bruce N. Alick on Saturday, April 28. The gala dinner and program were held at the Hilton Hotel on City Line Avenue.
Alick expressed love and gratitude for the support provided by his family and the congregation during the past two decades. “We have truly come this far by faith, leaning on the Lord.” I thank you, and I give praise to our God,” he said. “You have not only been supportive of me, you have supported my family as well. Thank you.
“We must look outside of our newly renovated stained glass windows and see the community God has strategically placed us in. In the years to come, we must increase our efforts in advancing the kingdom of our Savior by continuing to help the lost, the least and the locked out among us. We must do what Jesus did ... preach, teach and heal. I still maintain that the church has but one mission, “to seek and to save those who are lost by bringing them to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.” However, we also understand that the church has many ministries. It is through the ministries of the church that we let our light so shine that others will see our good works and glorify our Father in heaven.”
Alick is a native Philadelphian with a distinguished background. He accepted Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior while in the fourth grade.
In 1971, one month away from his 17th birthday, Alick was licensed to preach at the Gibson Temple Baptist Church.
In 1974, he joined the Vine Memorial Baptist Church where he was ordained in 1985. He considers the Rev. Dr. James S. Allen, pastor of Vine Memorial, as his father-in-the-ministry.
Alick attended Philadelphia public schools and graduated from Simon Gratz High School in 1972. He earned his bachelor’s degree, with honors, in religion and philosophy at Bishop College in Dallas, Texas, in 1981. He received his master of divinity from the Morehouse School of Religion at the Interdenominational Theological Center in 1987 and received his doctor of ministry degree at the United Theological Seminary in Dayton, Ohio, in 2000.
In 1986, Alick was called to serve as pastor of the New Springfield Baptist Church of Siloam, Ga. He served in that capacity until 1992 when he began serving as pastor of the historic Mt. Zion Baptist Church of Germantown (founded in 1871).
Alick is an instructor in the School of Christian Ministry at Palmer Theological Seminary (formerly, Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary), serves as the director of Christian Education for the Pennsylvania Baptist State Convention, is an instructor at NBCUSA, Inc., Sunday School Publishing Board’s Annual Christian Education Conference and has numerous publications.
Alick is actively involved in foreign mission work and has traveled to Swaziland, the Republic of South Africa, Malawi, Lesotho, Kenya and Somalia. He has also traveled to Venice, Rovigo and Verona, Italy, as part of a preaching and teaching team from the Lott Carey Foreign Mission Convention.
In 2007, Alick made his first pilgrimage to the Holy Land in Israel, where he was baptized in the Jordan River.
Alick is a member of the Baptist Pastor’s and Minister’s Conference of Philadelphia and Vicinity. He serves on the Ethics Committee of Concerned Black Clergy of Philadelphia and Vicinity. In 2011, Alick was appointed to the board of directors of the Philadelphia Martin Luther King Jr. Association for Nonviolence, Inc.
Alick is married to the former Kare L. Hayes. They are the proud parents of three children, Candice, Daniel and Sethian and have four beautiful grandchildren.
Highlights of the program included an opening presentation by the Men In Christ Step Team, dance soloist Elexus Freeman and a performance by gymnast Ariel Anderson. Anniversary chair Deaconess Jean Scott gave the welcome address.
Following dinner and dessert, gala attendees were blessed with an inspirational message by the evening’s guest speaker the Rev. Dr. Kelly Miller Smith Jr. of First Baptist Church Capitol Hill in Nashville, Tenn.
There was also a presentation of the church gift with remarks by the Joint Ministries chairs and a musical presentation by Kenneth Anderson and Rhonda Shaw.
The highlight of the evening was a “Gospel Motown Review,” a raucous revision of the lyrics to songs done by The Supremes, Tammi and Marvin, The Temps, Jackson 5, Jackie Wilson, Gladys Knight and the Pips and Martha and the Vandellas, performed by the officers and ministers of Mt. Zion.
Closing remarks of gratitude were made by Deaconess Stephanie Anderson, who did a fantastic job as gala program chair.
Congratulations and very best wishes to Rev. Dr. Bruce N. Alick and the entire Mt. Zion Baptist Church of Germantown Family. Special thanks are extended to Helen Salahuddin for her assistance.
Congratulations and very best wishes to my classmates from the 211th class of The Philadelphia High School for Girls who celebrated the 45th anniversary of our graduation in 1967 last weekend!
Have a fantastic week. I look forward to see you “Out & About.”
