Chillin' Wit' Bishop Audrey F. Bronson
At 85, founder of Sanctuary Church of the Open Door mentions rapper Ja Rule in a sermon.
EVEN A HEFTY dose of snow, ice and cold doesn't keep Bishop Audrey F. Bronson, 85, the founder and pastor of West Philadelphia's Sanctuary Church of the Open Door, at home on a Sunday.
Despite the freezing rain and temperatures, she has just finished greeting a stream of congregants who eagerly stepped up to hug her after Sunday-morning services at her church, on Walnut Street near 60th.
"I'm still preaching, still pastoring, and when I talk about retirement, they don't want to hear it," says Bronson, who looks barely a day older than 60 as she sits in her church office. Although she doesn't get much time to relax, she often takes a much-needed break on Sundays after church.
"Usually I'll go out to dinner," Bronson says. Favorite spots include Charlie Brown's in Springfield, Delaware County, and the Olive Garden in Bala Cynwyd. "I'm usually tired after preaching on a Sunday."
For 2 1/2 years beginning in 2009, Bronson served as the first female president of the Black Clergy of Philadelphia and Vicinity. She wears many hats during the week. Besides her church's clothing drives, pantry and other ministry, she serves on the city's Police Advisory Commission and Dilworth Award Committee, and on the board of trustees of Cheyney University. She graduated from Cheyney and taught psychology there for 18 years.
In October, she celebrated her 70th anniversary of preaching, having started when she was 14.
So, how does Bronson - a minister's daughter raised in Sanford, Fla., until her family moved to Philadelphia when she was 13 - stay young?
First off, she works pop culture into her sermons. Yesterday, talking about clapping in worship, she mentioned Ja Rule's song "Clap Back" in her sermon.
She grins when she recalls the looks on the faces of young congregants when she brought up the popular hip-hop artist.
"I get involved in so many different things," she says. "It re-energizes me."
But soon, Bronson says, it will be time to retire, to mentor younger women in the ministry. And she wants to write a book about her experiences.
"I'm fulfilled," she says. "My whole thing is to help when I can. I want to uplift people."
- Morgan Zalot