On Sunday, October 9, 2022, the Grace Community Church of Amityville, NY celebrated the 96th birthday of their Overseer, Robert Burgess.

In the mid-1970’s when a collection of churches responded to an invitation to march to corners of Great Neck Road and Albany Avenue to cry out against the crack epidemic that had taken hold of the streets of North Amityville, it was Pastor Robert Burgess that led his newly founded congregation to participate in the campaign. Currently, Overseer Burgess is one of only three active pastors who helped to establish the Ministerial Alliance of North Amityville and Vicinity, Dr. Patricia Rickenbacker and Bishop Walter Willie being the other two.

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Overseer Burgess has long held the reputation for being one of the most outspoken voices of the African American community. Over the years, Overseer Burgess would be found at school board meetings and community events lending his voice and presence to the agenda of social justice and concerns. While most men of his age may be content to relax and wind down from an active life, Overseer Burgess is as active today as he was forty years ago when he helped to establish the MANA organization.

During the birthday celebration, Grace Community Church was visited by several local pastors who were in attendance to salute the senior pastor o North Amityville and Suffolk County. Local pastors included Pastor Keith Hayward of the Bethel African Methodist Church of Copiague, New York, Bishop Walter Willie of the Prayer Tabernacle Church of God in Christ and Bishop Andy C. Lewter of the Hollywood Full Gospel Baptist Cathedral, both of Amityville, NY. Following the worship service, the congregation retired to the lower level of the Grace Community Church to engage in the actual birthday dinner that had been prepared to celebrate the birthday of Overseer Burgess. We join the Grace Community Church as they celebrate one of the founding fathers of the Ministerial Alliance of North Amityville and Vicinity.

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