The 134-year-old Fenimore Road United Methodist Church (FSUMC) on Sunday joined Homes of Worship and others all through the nation in paying a “particular” tribute to slain civil rights chief, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., whose birthday was celebrated on Monday.
Rev. King’s birthday, a public vacation, was celebrated this yr on his precise birthday, Jan. 15.
FSUMC devoted its total close to two-hour-long Worship Service on Sunday to Dr. King’s life and legacy, paying tributes in, amongst different issues, songs, hymns and prayers.
“Welcome on this Particular Day, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Day,” mentioned Liturgist Marlene Ferguson, the Trinidadian-born chairperson of the church’s Household Life Committee.
“Father, we thanks to celebrated the beginning of a person, who had given a lot,” Ferguson, additionally a retired registered nurse, later prayed. “Father, we keep in mind the assassination of this nice man.”
Dr, King, clearly, the 20th Century’s most compelling and efficient civil rights chief, was born on Jan. 15, 1929, in Atlanta, GA.
He was assassinated in Memphis, Tenn. on April 4,1968 whereas standing on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel.
Ferguson famous that Martin Luther King Day “celebrates the life and work of Dr. King, who was a Baptist Minister and a outstanding chief within the American civil rights actions.
“On this present day, persons are inspired to make use of the day to replicate on the rules of racial equality and nonviolent social change,” she mentioned, stating that, in response to the King Middle in Atlanta, the theme for this yr’s celebration is “Shifting the cultural local weather via the examine and the apply of Kingian non-violence.”
“Kingian non-violence is about utilizing nonviolent options to handle injustice and violence globally,” Fergusion added. “It’s a apply derived from King’s philosophy and methodology of people and communities studying to work on areas of battle with out resorting to violence.”
She mentioned she was in highschool in Trinidad and Tobago when information broke that King was assassinated, and that each one college students had been despatched dwelling.
“That day, the downpour of rain, thunder, lightning – and seemed as if the world was coming to an finish,” Ferguson recalled. “After I arrived at my dwelling within the village of Enterprise, I noticed my mom gathered along with different villagers. Our dwelling was a neighborhood gathering spot for the villagers. They had been heartbroken, crying, praying for energy.
“Truthfully, I don’t understand how a lot they knew about MLK (Martin Luther King),” she added. “The little I actually heard of MLK was in a calypso, ‘We Need Martin Luther King for President.’”
That track was written and sung by the Mighty Sparrow, the undisputed Calypso King of the World.
As congregants mirrored on the life and legacy of Dr. King, Ferguson additionally requested them to recollect civil rights trailblazers, such because the late Rosa Parks and Congressman John Lewis.
She famous that “they struggled via injustice, discrimination”, including: “That’s the reason we’re in a position to be right here immediately.
“John Lewis mentioned, ‘If you’re going to get into hassle, then let it’s good hassle,’” Ferguson continued. “Identical to MLK and so many others, they bought in good hassle to pave the best way for us from technology to technology.”
Congregants on all sides of the sanctuary learn alternate paragraphs of the “Particular MLK Prayer”. It says, partly: “We keep in mind the conviction of Martin Luther King, Jr. that ‘freedom isn’t voluntarily given by the oppressor; it have to be demanded by the oppressed’. Subsequently, allow us to pray for braveness and willpower by those that are oppressed. We keep in mind Martin’s warning that ‘a destructive peach, which is the absence of pressure,’ is lower than ‘a constructive peace, which is the presence of justice’. Subsequently, allow us to pray that those that work for peace in our world might cry out first for justice.”
The congregation additionally joined the Chancel Choir in singing “We Shall Overcome”, the anthem of the Civil Rights Motion within the Nineteen Fifties and ‘60s.
African American spirituals, equivalent to “Kum Ba Yah, My Lord” and “Wade within the Water,” had been amongst songs and hymns rendered by each the Chancel Choir and the congregation.
“When invite results in incite, it’s going to result in transformation of the minds,” preached the church’s African American Pastor the Rev. Roger Jackson in his sermon, basing it on John 1:43-51.
“We’re referred to as Christians, however we ought to like as disciples of Jesus Christ,” he added. “The excellent news is [that] Jesus continues to name us out of darkness. The excellent news is that we don’t should be mistakenly recognized.”
