Bishopry and Community Work
From the early 1970s, after having moved to Los Angeles, Burke concentrated on his episcopal duties, preaching from a crimson throne on the third Sunday of the month at the Prayer Assembly Church of God in Christ, his church at 226 North Market St., Inglewood, California. Within three decades his church grew to have about 170 missions and 40,000 members. By 2000, Burke's Solomon’s Temple: The House of God for All People had over 300 ordained ministers whose job is to “feed the hungry, educate the uneducated and be God’s workers in the vineyard”, and 40,000 parishioners in close to 200 churches across the USA, Canada, and Jamaica. At the time of his death, there were about 180 churches that were established under the charter of his denomination, with Burke indicating: "We’re non-sectarian, non-denominational. Ours is an open door." In 2008 Burke acknowledged his Christian methodology differed from that of his maternal uncle, Pastor Harry R. Moore (1933–1982), the founder and pastor of Our First Temple of Faith, at Front and Susquehanna Streets, Philadelphia: "Mine was more: God, money and women, hey hey hey; truth, love, peace and get it on." While pursuing other interests, Burke was also deeply involved in community work, assisting The Crippled Children's Foundation for blind and underprivileged children, while personally being responsible for more than 120 adopted children.
Read more about this topic: Solomon Burke
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