Unity is the driving force behind an upcoming event honoring the life and legacy of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
The fourth annual ecumenical service honoring Dr. King is set for January 9 at 3 p.m. at Mount Olive Baptist Church, at 469 Mount Olive Road in Stockbridge.
Stockbridge Mayor Anthony Ford is organizing the service, which will feature the theme of “It Starts With Me.” Ford described the event as a way to pay tribute to the life and teachings of Dr. King.
“It’s also a way to remind us how we should live and treat people of different backgrounds and denominations, and be of service to one another,” said Ford. “We’ve been going through quite a lot in reference to this pandemic, as a community and as a country. This event brings people of different backgrounds together as a sense of unity. We need something like this to help us reflect and move forward.”
Ford said religious leaders from a variety of faiths will offer prayers at the event. Choirs and soloists will perform and the service will also include readings in honor of Dr. King.
“There will be a limited amount of people, but it will be livestreamed on Facebook Live,” said Ford. “This will be a virtual event, so individuals can watch it in the safety of their home or wherever they’re located.”
The annual service honoring Dr. King has emanated from churches representing a variety of faiths over the last four years. This has been an intentional practice by organizers, said the Rev. Dr. Charles Jackson, a retired United Methodist elder of the North Georgia Annual Conference.
He said it is designed to emphasize a sense of unity espoused by the slain civil rights leader.
“I wanted to make sure that the service is held in interfaith worship communities,” said Jackson. “If there is a need to bring people together across race, political persuasion, gender, economic status, the time is now. It starts with the individual peace-loving creatures in the image of God, as they love their neighbor as themselves.
“We are all members of the beloved community,” he continued. “It takes members of the beloved community to bring about change that embraces everyone and that creates a community where we can all live in peace and justice and be representatives of the Creator who created us.”
Jackson is a facilitator for the Henry County Interfaith Coalition, which brings together faith leaders to improve race relations. He said the coalition is in the process of electing officers, led by Rev. Dr. Robb Harrell.
“Our objective is to become a 501(c)(3) nonprofit to support partners in the coalition,” said Jackson.
Harrell is also helping to coordinate this year’s service, just as he has done for the last three years. He said when Jackson asked him to take part in an event honoring Dr. King, he “did not hesitate” to do so.
“Dr. King was a powerful witness to the unity we all share, and I am glad to work with members of the interfaith community here in Henry County to lift up that legacy,” said Harrell. “The service is hosted by different faith communities each year by design. Though Dr. King was a Christian and shaped by his own Baptist legacy, his message of justice and unity is one that can be embraced across our confessional and theological lines. We hope to embody this vision in real and tangible ways by having a variety of hosts.”
Religious leaders from several faiths will be on hand for the ecumenical service, to pay tribute to King’s legacy. Along with Jackson, they include: Deacon Charles Iner of St. James the Apostle Catholic Church; Susan Burden of Congregation B’nai Israel, and Henry County resident Kaushal Patel.
Harrell said such an occasion is an important one for the community at this time in the nation’s history.
“It has been almost 54 years since Dr. King died, yet his words are as timely for us today as they were during the sixties,” said Harrell. “In one speech made at Oberlin College in 1965, he said, ‘…all life is interrelated… somehow we’re caught in an inescapable network of mutuality tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly affects all indirectly.’ We need to remind ourselves of this regularly. The service is one small way to do that. If we can gather together, to pray, to sing, to serve – even if we are just doing it for an hour on a Sunday afternoon – maybe we can learn to do those things together every day.”
