MLK service draws overflow crowd to Faith Church
(1-24-05)
Right from the beginning, the 2005 commemoration of the life and ministry of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. had people on their feet. With hundreds crowded into the pews and standing in the back of Faith Lutheran Church, Baltimore, the service on Sunday afternoon, January 16, overflowed with stirring music, memories of the past and challenges for the future.
The annual event, sponsored by the Baltimore Chapter of the African American Lutheran Association, featured five choirs, numerous musicians, liturgical dance, a tribute to King by youth, and a sermon based on the story of Cain and Abel from Genesis 4.
"Cain, what was in your mind when you decided to take the life of Abel?" said the Rev. Constance Smith, pastor of Eastern United Methodist Church, Baltimore, and activist member of Baltimoreans United in Leadership Development. The Washington, D.C., native told of taking part as a small child in the March on Washington King led then turning away from religion when four little girls were killed in a church bombing. But "God has a way of bringing you right back around to your purpose," she said.
Describing today's Cains of discrimination, racism, oppression, and "the self-centered folks who don't lift up everybody else," Smith exhorted listeners to become involved in their neighborhoods. "Where are the neighbors walking together?" she cried. "Where is the church taking neighborhood by neighborhood back?....Are you able to let justice roll down, to work together and not get weary until systemic changes comes in the neighborhood?"
Looking at the mixed-race crowd, she reminded them, "We're all brothers and sisters. We all have the same blood" from Adam and Eve. "Remember the dream!" she concluded. "They may have killed the messenger but the message still lives. Am I my brother's keeper? Yes!"
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Members of the Joint Children's Choir from Faith Church and Amazing Grace Lutheran Church (McElderry St.) eagerly take part in the pre-service music presented by the choir from Augsburg Lutheran Church (Garrison Blvd.). Among their offerings: "Precious Lord, Take My Hand," the hymn that Martin Luther King had requested be sung at the worship service he was to attend the night he was killed. |
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The Rev. Eric Campbell, pastor of Augsburg Lutheran Church (Garrison Blvd.), Baltimore, welcomes worshipers on behalf of the African American Lutheran Association, Baltimore Chapter, of which he is president. |
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Joining hands in "We Shall Overcome," worshipers helped bring a powerful closing to a powerful service. |