Pastor Emeritus Sunday At Mt. Zion This Sunday

This Sunday, Apr. 27 will be Rev. Dr. Samuel Berry McKinney Day at the Mount Zion Baptist Church in Seattle. The community is invited to come congratulate and show their appreciation to Dr. and Mrs. McKinney on this day. Dr. McKinney will preach the 7:30 am and the 10:45 am Worship Services. Under the forty year direction and administration of Dr. McKinney, along with his wife, Mrs. Louise Jones McKinney, the church not only grew into an institution in this community but gained national and international acclaim for the way in which the two were able to blend spiritual growth, African American and African history, educational excellence and scholarship, political participation, economic development, arts and culture, into a smooth integration of church, family, and community. A world traveler, Dr. McKinney traveled to South Africa prior to the end of Apartheid where he was able to preach the gospel and share the word of God on that and other continents. His pastoring, preaching, and teaching have been and continue to be actively demonstrated locally and nationally. He successfully served as supply pastor for the Goodwill Baptist Church and is now in that capacity at Damascus Baptist Church. In June 2004, he was among an elite small group of clergy honored at the Hampton’s Ministers’ Conference in Hampton, Virginia, as a “Living Legacy.” Dr. McKinney and Mrs. McKinney are to be honored for their tireless efforts in building and growing Mount Zion Baptist Church and providing a foundation for future leaders to continue the growth pattern that had been established and carried forth through his retirement, April 1998. Mount Zion Baptist Church took shape under the work and management of Rev. Anderson in the year 1890, assisted by the Rev. George J. Burchett, who was then pastor of the First Baptist Church of Seattle. From 1890 to 1958, when Rev. McKinney was called to Mount Zion, there had been only 21 other pastors to serve the church, in several locations: a store room on the corner of 14th and Madison, the University ground on 4th and University where the Cobb Building now stands, a store room at 9th and Olive, in1906, 11th and Union Street and in 1918, a beautiful lot, 80 x 122 feet was purchased on 19th Avenue and Madison for $6,000.00, where the church is today. In front of the church rests a large and impressive sculpture titled “The Oracle of Truth” which was sculpted by the late and world-renown artist, Dr. James W. Washington, Jr. During Dr. McKinney’s pastorate, the church experienced four groundbreakings: the Mable L. Harris Educational Wing in 1962, the Sanctuary in 1974/75, the Samuel Berry McKinney Manor in 1997 and the Gideon Bell Tower in 1998. Dr. McKinney’s voice can still be heard every Sunday morning at 7:10 am. Along with the Rev. Ruth Saunders, a new and dynamic broadcast can also be heard on Sunday mornings at 8:30 am called “The Truth.” Both programs are broadcast on 1420 KRIZ, 1560 KZIZ, and 1620 KYIZ. Your attendance this Sunday is encouraged, for you will surely experience the Gospel preached by a man of prominence, patience, and prestige; one who has and continues to walk and talk the faith and commitment to family, Church, and community. If your worship experience prevents you from attending either Worship Service, your presence is welcome at the fellowship hour which follows the 10:45 am Worship, at approximately 1:00 pm. Or, you may send congratulations to the McKinneys, c/o Mount Zion Baptist Church, 1634 19th Avenue, Seattle WA 98122.