Faith Bickley Hill

Faith Bickley Hill

September 8, 1945 – August 7, 2026

Faith Bickley Hill, known to many former parishioners as Rev. Faith Spence, died at age 80 at her home in Brookhaven, PA, with her husband of two decades at her side.

Faith was born in Philadelphia to Edna and Ernest Bickley, and grew up in Warrington. She graduated from Central Bucks High School and went on to West Chester State College earning a Bachelor of Science in Music. After several years teaching school, she returned to her studies and earned a Master of Divinity from Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary.

She was ordained in 1978 and began her ministry as minister of music and associate pastor at Royersford Baptist Church. She went on to serve as pastor to numerous churches throughout southeastern Pennsylvania and worked as a hospice chaplain in the Lehigh Valley in the 1990s. She ended her pastoral career at First Presbyterian Church of Glenolden, PA.

A lifelong musician, Faith wove music into every part of her ministry. She could often be found on Sundays she wasn't preaching seated at a church organ instead. Outside of church, she loved the Phillies, her cats, and summer trips down to the Jersey shore.

Faith was preceded in death by her parents and her beloved older sister, Judith B. Altman. She is survived by her husband, Donald Hill of Brookhaven, PA; her daughter, Deborah L. Spence of Arlington, VA, from her first marriage to David C. Spence; and numerous friends and former parishioners whose lives she touched.

Faith's ministry brought her again and again to the bedsides of the dying, and her faith shaped how she understood what she witnessed there. She did not see death as an ending, but as a passage, one more chapter within a life that continued on. She spoke to this directly in November 1997, when she co-led a memorial ceremony with the visiting nurses of the Lehigh Valley, honoring patients who had died in their care. Her words that day reflected her view: "This thing we call dying is, in fact, a part of living."

Memorial services will be held at a future date. Family and friends will be notified.