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Tuesday, January 13, 2009 10:10 AM MLK Day to be full of events By Rochelle Moore | Times Staff Writer On Monday, Wilsonians will celebrate the life and legacy of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. with the city's 15th annual ecumenical breakfast. On Tuesday, the focus will turn to Washington as Barack Obama, the first African-American elected to the country's highest office, is sworn in as the 44th president of the United States. The Martin Luther King Jr. Ecumenical Prayer Breakfast on Monday will start at 7:30 a.m. in the Darden Alumni Center, 1600 Lipscomb Road. It will tie the two events together under this year's theme, "Honor the Dream -- the Assurance of Hope." "On Jan. 20, citizens from across the country will gather in the nation's capital for an historic celebration," said Lynne Medlin, vice chair of the Wilson Martin Luther King Jr. Commission. "We invite all of Wilson to attend the breakfast on the eve of this event to honor the legacy of this great man -- Dr. King. It is the values of equality and social change that Dr. King championed that inspire our (MLK Jr.) Commission each day to advance social responsibility and diversity in ways that foster a healthy community." Tickets to the breakfast are on sale for $5 at the Darden Alumni Center, 1600 Lipscomb Road, or at the Wilson Arts Center, 108 Goldsboro St. Tickets have sold out in years past, including the past two years in a row, said Theresa Mathis, MLK Jr. Commission secretary. The keynote speaker this year will be the Rev. Joshua Goocey, senior pastor of First Christian Church, Disciples of Christ. "The Reverend Dr. King inspires in me, as he has in millions of others, a great hope of human wholeness," Goocey said. "He proclaimed with a prophetic voice that injustice, division, segregation and war destroy the human body and spirit, and he fearlessly championed the dignity of those society rejected and oppressed. He was and still is a wellspring of God-like hope in a broken and hurting world." The breakfast will include prayers by various members of the faith community and performances by a gospel choir, Roy and the Carolina Jubilees, and the Wilson Mime Team. The breakfast will be catered by Sylvia's Family Restaurant. The commission will announce its plans to restart the Young Dreamer's scholarship program, and a collection will be taken at the breakfast to support the program. "We are most excited about reviving the college scholarship program," said Ada Harris, chair of the MLK Jr. Commission. "This will be an exciting opportunity for the community to help a young person achieve their dream of attending college." The program will continue to accept applications through April, and the scholarship award will be made by the commission during honors programs at the end of the school year. Some scholarships will be awarded at the breakfast. Norval Kneten, president of Barton College, and Rusty Stephens, president of Wilson Community College, will each award scholarships that will help Wilson high school students attend the two local colleges. Following the breakfast, several community events are planned Monday to recognize Martin Luther King Jr. Day. At noon, Stantonsburg United Methodist Church and Greater Zion Original Free Will Baptist Church will host a unity march in Stantonsburg, starting at the Methodist church and ending at the Free Will Baptist church. A short service will follow. A community gospel choir will present a concert at Jackson Chapel, 571 E. Nash St., starting at 3 p.m. Tickets are on sale at the Wilson Arts Center for $5 for adults and $3 for children age 12 and under. Anyone interested in joining the choir may attend the first rehearsal today, at 6 p.m., at Jackson Chapel. The Arts Council will also sponsor an art exhibit by artist Johnnie Anderson at Jackson Chapel during the choir performance. A reception is planned for 5 p.m. in the church fellowship hall. Artwork by Anderson, a professional artist for 15 years, has been displayed in galleries, museums and guilds such as the Durham's Arts Guild, the Witherspoon Art Gallery in Greensboro, the N.C. Central University Arts Museum and the Greenville Museum of Art. A blood drive will be hosted by the C.H. Darden High School Alumni Association from 2:30-7 p.m. in the Darden Alumni Center. The Wilson Branch of the NAACP will host a Community MLK Service at 7 p.m. at Trinity African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, at 1624 Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway. The Wilson MLK Jr. Commission, an independent nonprofit organization, meets every fourth Thursday at noon at the Wilson Arts Center. Membership is free and open to the public. rochelle@wilsontimes.com | 265-7818 |
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So True said...
AMEN to that one, PUZZLED. We will probably get a whole week off now that Obama is President.
Thursday, January 15, 2009 at 3:28 PM
Puzzled said...AMEN to that one, PUZZLED. We will probably get a whole week off now that Obama is President.
Thursday, January 15, 2009 at 3:28 PM
I think we should get to choose between taking Easter Monday for a man that died for our sins or Martin Luther King, Jr. Unfortuately the choice was made for us. Please explain where Mr. King is more deserving than Christ?????
Thursday, January 15, 2009 at 12:34 PM
Wonderful that the Wilson Arts Center hosts the MLK Jr. Commission!
Wednesday, January 14, 2009 at 5:44 PM
To Hootie, You got that RIGHT! Like I said I don't mean it that way but I am sure it will be taken that way but I know I speak for alot of others too.
Wednesday, January 14, 2009 at 9:18 AM
be careful Dreamer, you'll be called a rascist
Tuesday, January 13, 2009 at 6:32 PM
