Celebrating Martin Luther King

Written by: Kate Snyder, Executive Assistant

As an interfaith organization, EECM seeks to find opportunities for our various supporting congregations to come together. One of our most longstanding traditions of interfaith celebration is the annual Martin Luther King Celebration Service. Each year on the Sunday before MLK Day, we host an interfaith worship event, celebrating the life and ministry of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

It’s a neat service because it really does bring together a broad range of people. Borrowing from an article in Monday’s Post-Gazette: Ladies in mink hats mingled with those in Muslim head scarves. Men in sweater vests and borrowed yarmulkes talked to others in suits with shiny shoes. This year, our 24th, the service was held at the Jewish congregation, Tree of Life, and co-hosted by Lincoln Avenue Church of God.

Altogether, representatives from more than a dozen congregations and community organizations participated in the service. There were musical performances, scripture passages on the theme of justice, readings from speeches by Rev. Dr. King, and liturgical dance. My favorite performance was by the VoKols – a Jewish youth a cappella group that performed two fabulous pieces in Hebrew. They were great!

Our keynote speaker this year was the Rev. Dr. Ronald Peters, a professor at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, director of the Metro Urban Institute, and member of EECM’s Board of Directors. He spoke on the theme of the “Beloved Community” and reminded us that we still have work to do to make Rev. Dr. King’s dream a reality.

We ended the service by singing “We Shall Overcome.” The much-loved hymn was given a new feel by a cantorial soloist from Congregation Rodef Shalom who sang the first verse in Hebrew before we all joined in in English.