I was honored to be part of the Martin Luther King Day Commemoration on January 17, which ended with our presentations at the Cincinnati Music Hall. Due to COVID, our program was held on Zoom, with only those of us in the program inside at Music Hall. I had the opportunity to sit through the entire program, which was filled with inspirational music, messages on justice and equal rights, and personal stories of speaking truth to power. It was a spiritually moving experience for me, since I rarely have the opportunity to worship in an inter-racial setting. Below are the words I shared as the Benediction at the close of the commemoration ceremony:
And now, O God, we pray for wisdom and peace as we pursue justice, hope, voting rights, and love for all people. And what does the Lord require of us but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with our God? With the voice of a prophet, Martin Luther King did say, “With faith we will be able to go on to carve a tower of hope on the mountain of despair, and bring into being that great dream, and create right here in America a nation where we all live together and respect the dignity and worth of the human personality.”
As we prepare to leave this time together, O God, we pray as Dr. King prayed, that we might be possessed by righteousness until that day when righteousness reigns supreme. Amen