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Faithful gather at Parkersburg church to honor Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy

Photo by Brett Dunlap Zion Baptist Church Pastor Charles Grays spoke Sunday during a special service commemorating the legacy of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. at the church. Many people of different faiths and backgrounds came together for the service.

PARKERSBURG — People from many faiths and backgrounds came together Sunday at a local church to remember the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Many from around the community gathered at Zion Baptist Church in Parkersburg to remember and reflect on King’s words and his deeds and to remember they are all part of the human race, regardless of the color of their skin or how they chose to worship God.

“We thank God for color,” said Zion’s Pastor Charles Grays. “We have all colors and creeds here.

“That is what the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King stood for — peace and love and unity amongst us all. Not segregation, not bigotry, but love.”

Those who attended Sunday’s service were there to celebrate and honor King, a man who has made history in the United States, said Cynthia Brown of Zion Baptist Church, organizer of Sunday’s special service.

AP Photo In this May 17, 1967, file photo, Dr. Martin Luther King speaks at the University of California administration building in Berkeley, Calif.

“He was a man who stood for unity for all and freedom for all,” she said. “I hope you will take something forth from this and remember Dr. King, not just (Sunday), not just (today), but every day in your walks of life.”

Parkersburg Mayor Tom Joyce said there were two things that always stood out about King’s message — love and helping others.

“He would always choose love over hate, because hate was so burdensome,” he said. “If you have love in your heart and do unto others as you would have them do unto you, you are going to live a much happier and more productive life.

“We can all live lives where we can help others. Dr. King fought a tremendous fight and stood up against hatred, bigotry and evil.”

Arthur Brown, pastor of Grace & Mercy Apostolic Temple, talked about people having good examples in their lives so they can succeed.

Photo by Brett Dunlap Parkersburg Mayor Tom Joyce was one of a number of speakers from around the community who spoke at a special service Sunday at Zion Baptist Church commemorating the legacy of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

“Because this man (King) had a dream, we can walk with a vision,” he said.

Pastor Ian Reid, of First Lutheran Church, talked about how Martin Luther, the man who started the Reformation over 500 years ago, inspired King’s father so much that he changed his and his son’s name.

There was a need in churches to get back to the people in their service to God, Reid said, adding through King’s words and actions, people are still seeking God as they come together.

“We come together, no matter where we come from or what we look like, but we all worship one god,” he said. “We are all God’s children.”

As the Zion Choir sang, “Jesus In Me,” those in attendance got up and greeted each other, exchanging handshakes and hugs.

Photo by Brett Dunlap Many people from around the community attended a special service Sunday at Zion Baptist Church in Parkersburg to commemorate the legacy of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Pastor Janice Hill, of First Christian Church of Parkersburg, talked about King’s faith and how he was inspired by other men of faith to do what he did. She said if there was ever a time people needed to come together as Christians, it is now.

“We are in war and we are in battle,” Hill said. “We have been shown how to do that and how to do it the Christian way.

“My prayer is for all of us to be bold in our faith, because it is going to take boldness.”

Hill will be attending the Women’s March in Washington, D.C., on Saturday and asked for people’s prayers to help her through.

Doug Kreinik, President of Temple B’nai Israel, recalled watching King’s famous “I Have A Dream” speech and not realizing the impact it would have on the future.

Photo by Brett Dunlap During the singing of the song “Jesus In Me,” those in attendance at a special service commemorating the legacy of the Dr. Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. got up and greeted each other with hugs, handshakes and greetings.

Many speak of having “tolerance” for diverse groups of people, but Kreinik resents the word.

“People show me tolerance because I am a Jew,” he said. “According to the dictionary, ‘tolerance’ means the ability or willingness to tolerate something … that one does not necessarily agree with.”

For people to be “tolerant” of another race or religion or ethnic group can be construed as that race or person being bothersome and the word is used as an excuse to not give respect to someone or not treating them as equals.

“Our origins, it has been theorized, is that we all come from the same seed,” Kreinik said.

Hadassah Lynch, of the Grace and MercyApostolic Temple, talked about how King used his voice to bring about change.

Lynch talked about being the only person of color in a classroom and growing up with racial slurs thrown at her constantly and be being presented with a version of history where African-Americans were vilified without a reason given.

“Now I have a voice,” she said. “I am able to speak on the hate I felt, but I responded with love because I went to the source that gives love.”

She talked about how King’s dream of racial equality was alive in everyone and how King gave all in order to change America. She talked about a time when “black and white will become one.”

“His words spoke of freedom,” Lynch said of King. “He responded with love.”

Pastor Casey Dawson, of Sunrise Baptist Church, spoke about how in today’s politically correct climate people differentiate how “black lives matter” or “police lives matter,” but he believes King would feel that “all lives matter.”

“We care about everyone, because that is exactly what the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. would have said and did say,” Dawson said.

Also, nowadays people downplay King being a pastor and how many of the words and phrases in his speeches came from Biblical scriptures. Secular society has begun to take that away, Dawson said.

“We as the church need to remind the world that he was first and foremost a Christian before he was a civil rights activist,” Dawson said. “He called upon the name of Jesus Christ, his Lord, to help people.”

Emmanuel Ogwude, executive director of the West Virginia Center for Peace and Conflict, spoke about how people who are oppressed pray to God for guidance, direction and hope that they will be freed from oppression, poverty and racial injustice.

“God always hears those voices,” he said. “Today, I thank God for the life of Dr. King.”

Ogwude doesn’t believe King would be worried about who won the recent presidential election or who may be the U.S. Attorney General.

“King would know that our struggles today are bigger than one man or one woman,” he said. “He would be talking to us about our communities.”

There is a need for communities to build themselves back up, but many communities have people where if they reach a certain level of success will leave for something better elsewhere.

“That drain sucks hope out of our communities and brings hopelessness and suffering to our young men,” Ogwude said. “They don’t have those examples.

“I think Dr. King would be focused now on what we do in our communities and that is where our focus should be.”

The Rev. Bill Law, of Union Valley Baptist Church, talked about how King preached the value of loving one’s enemies. People threatened King, spit in his face and more.

“All he did was show love and it cost him his life,” Law said. “He is living on in each one of us.”

In recalling sections of the famous “I Have A Dream” speech about how King hoped his children would be judged by their character and not the color of their skin, Law talked about two of his own grandchildren who are of mixed race.

“I know what it is like to hear people talk,” he said. “I don’t know what they will have to go through.

“I am thankful for Martin Luther King Jr. who lived and breathed that all lives mattered.”

Chris Runion, of Sunrise Baptist Church, talked about how Biblical verses supported King and his dreams.

“Martin Luther King Jr. has inspired me that in no matter how big your dreams are, go after them,” he said.

Runion urged people to always be moving forward as King had done.

Carol Sedgweek, of the Baha’i faith, talked about how diversity should be a cause to celebrate instead of making it a cause to hate. There was a time when such a gathering like the one they had at Zion Baptist could not happen because of segregation.

“Dr. King changed that,” she said. “For 14 years, Dr. King proved it didn’t take violence to make a change.”

Hatred and a bullet took his life.

“We found out that all of his hard work was just the beginning,” Sedgweek said. “Changing the laws is not enough, it is just a start.

“You also have to change people’s hearts.”

King used non-violent protest to integrate bus systems and change the laws that allowed people to vote.

“Dr. King had a dream and a vision and he shared it with us,” Sedgweek said. “He gave it to us and inspired us.”

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