mlk dream On the third Monday of January each year, we celebrate Martin Luther King Day to commemorate his peaceful activism in the civil rights movement. His message is ingrained in the spirit of America, and part of the way we honor him is actually rooted in Pennsylvania. The national Martin Luther King Day of Service was started by former Pennsylvania U.S. Senator Harris Wofford and Atlanta Congressman John Lewis, who co-authored the King Holiday and Service Act. Beyond the U.S., his message resonates throughout the world. In fact, the Japanese city of Hiroshima as well as our Northern neighbors in Toronto celebrate King’s message of human rights. While the world observes the holiday, here are some ways to in your own community:

  • Macedonia Baptist Church, 218 North State Street, Newtown: The celebration begins at 7 p.m. The event will ponder the question, “We’ve learned to fly the air as birds, we’ve learned to swim the seas as fish, yet we haven’t learned to walk the Earth as brothers and sisters. Why?” Bring a non-perishable food item for donation to a local food bank. The program is free and open to the public.
  • CB Cares’ Days of Service Program offers three distinct days of service during the course of the year which prompt community members to develop and support various volunteer service projects. They kick off the year with CB Cares’ annual Martin Luther King Day of Service- a moving opening ceremony engages area choirs, youth performers and various community members as we honor the compassionate spirit of Martin Luther King. Martin Luther King Day of Service remains our largest community-wide volunteer service project event.
  • Second Baptist Church of Doylestown, 6055 Swamp Rd., Fountainville: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s message of hope and social justice rings with honor in Central Bucks County. For more than a decade, the Bucks County (PA) Chapter of The Links, Incorporated has joined forces with the historic Second Baptist Church of Doylestown to celebrate the legacy of a man who defined a movement by actively giving to communities in need. General Electric and the local chapters of Jack & Jill and Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority will join the group. Their efforts will make January 19th, 2015, the MLK Jr. holiday, truly a day on to work and to share and not just a day off.
    • 8:30 a.m. arrival for the King Day worship service at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church, 235 E. State Street Doylestown, Pa.
    • 10 a.m.to 3:30 p.m. Day of Service: Bucks County (PA) Links and volunteer community members will gather at Second Baptist at 10:00 a.m. to make spaghetti dinners for the elderly and breakfast bags for those who are isolated and homebound; to organize winter clothing and boots for low-income and homeless young people; and make warm blankets for sick, hospitalized children. Lunch will be served and young people will give reflections, their thoughts on Dr. King and the Civil Rights Movement, and the relevance to current events. Perhaps, making a connection to the shooting death of a young man in Ferguson, Mo., or the widely televised incident ending in the chokehold death of Eric Garner on Staten Island. Many youth see those events as tinder reigniting a new movement with a purpose and a message.
  • National Museum of American Jewish History101 S Independence Mall E, Philadelphia: Honor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. with a drop-in art project led by Fleisher Art Memorial, a musical performance, story time, Docent led spotlight talks and conversations, and screening of the award winning PBS documentary series, Eyes on the Prize: America's Civil Rights Movement (USA, 1986-1990). FREE Museum admission
  • See Selma, various locations: This much-buzzed about Oscar-nominated drama focuses on the fight for suffrage in 1965 in Alabama. Despite violent opposition, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his followers pressed forward on an epic march from Selma to Montgomery, and their efforts culminated in President Lyndon Johnson signing the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

 

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