Bridgewater’s Baccalaureate Service will be held Friday, May 2 at 6 p.m. in Nininger Hall.
Baccalaureate Speaker:
Rev. Carl Fike ’78
The Rev. Carl Fike ’78 serves as the Pastor of the Oak Park Church of the Brethren in Oakland, Md. He is retired from a career as an owner and executive selling residential building supplies and is a life trustee of Bridgewater College.
During his time as a student at Bridgewater, Fike was involved in Chorale and Pinion Players, the student-run theatre organization. He graduated from Bridgewater in 1978 with a degree in mathematics and embarked on a long career with his family’s business, Beachy Lumber Company. He also served as President of his local Chamber of Commerce, a founding Director and Treasurer of the Garrett County (Md.) Memorial Hospital Foundation and on the board of directors of banks in Maryland, Pennsylvania and New York.
Missionary work has been important to Fike and his wife, Suzie, for much of their lives. Fike was a part of the Church of the Brethren’s Mission and Ministry Board, serving two years as its chairman. For the past 35 years, the couple have focused their work on residents of Sucre, Bolivia, an historic city in the southern foothills of the South American nation that has also experienced multi-generational poverty. Fike has been instrumental in fundraising, recruiting volunteers, organizing traveling construction teams and building the facilities for Unidad University, a Bible college and seminary; Prados, a residential drug and alcohol treatment center; and Shalom Is My Home, a Christian orphanage and school, all located in Sucre. The orphanage currently provides homes for about 45 children and serves nearly 100 elementary students in its afterschool program.
What is Baccalaureate?
Baccalaureate is a worship service honoring the graduating class. The service will last approximately one hour and includes multiple hymns, musical selections from the choir and the Baccalaureate message. This is also the first opportunity graduates have to wear their caps and gowns. Baccalaureate is open to any guests that would like to attend. Attending Baccalaureate is not required.
Tickets
Tickets are not required for the Baccalaureate Service on Friday evening.
