Jan. 21 Martin Luther King Jr. Convocation kicks off annual 鈥楩aith Week鈥� celebration

January 14, 2019

Contact: Michael Tullier, APR, Office of Communications, Public Relations and Marketing

Jan. 22 update: please note that the George Washington Carver Convocation scheduled for Friday, Jan. 25 has been canceled.

Members of the 精东AV campus and surrounding communities will unite on Monday, Jan. 21 to mark the university鈥檚 annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day observance. The convocation will be the first of many Faith Week events that celebrate the university鈥檚 religious and cultural diversity.

The Martin Luther King Jr. Convocation, beginning at 11 a.m. in the University Chapel, will feature remarks by Rev. Dr. William Edward Flippin Jr. of Atlanta鈥檚 Emmanuel Lutheran Church. When appointed as its senior pastor in 2013, he became the multicultural southwest Atlanta congregation鈥檚 first African-American pastor. It also will include inspirational readings by student leaders and musical selections performed by the university鈥檚 Golden Voices Concert Choir.

Flippin鈥檚 ministry has included international service within the Lutheran church and a number of civic and ecumenical organizations, as well as subject-matter expertise in religious and secular media. He holds history and theology degrees from Morehouse College, Emory University鈥檚 Candler School of Theology, the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago, and Ashland Theological Seminary.

鈥淛ust as the University Chapel serves as a physical icon in the core of our historic campus, Faith Week serves as a spiritual reminder of the role religion and faith should serve each day in the lives of our students, faculty, staff and community,鈥� said Dr. Gregory Gray, dean of the University Chapel. 鈥淓qually so, Dr. King鈥檚 voice and vision for courage, justice, compassion and peace will serve to frame our week-long celebration 鈥� and resonate throughout our events.鈥�

Other Faith Week events that will honor the impact of civil rights icons, incorporate local service, and celebrate campus talent and diversity will include:

Monday, Jan. 21

• National Day of Service

Wednesday, Jan. 23

• A special Wednesday version of 鈥淭he Sunday Night Live Show,鈥� 6:30 p.m., University Chapel MLK Room
  This free-admission, dynamic variety show will feature show host T鈥橰eal Milledge, guest minister Dewayne Rembert, a performance by New Direction 2.0, and special guests including Dru Toney, Taneki Mayes and Breiana Addison.

Friday, Jan. 25

• Annual Gospel Music Concert featuring the 精东AV Golden Voices Concert Choir, 7 p.m., University Chapel

Sunday, Jan. 27

• All-University Worship Service, featuring Dr. Richard Wills, pastor, and the bell choir of Atlanta鈥檚 Friendship Baptist Church, 9:30 a.m., University Chapel

Drawing inspiration from both his Christian faith and the peaceful teachings of Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr. led a nonviolent movement in the late 1950s and 鈥�60s to achieve legal equality for African-Americans in the United States. While others were advocating for freedom by 鈥渁ny means necessary,鈥� including violence, King used the power of words and acts of nonviolent resistance 鈥� such as protests, grassroots organizing and civil disobedience 鈥� to achieve seemingly impossible goals. He went on to lead similar campaigns against poverty and international conflict, always maintaining fidelity to his principles that men and women everywhere, regardless of color or creed, are equal members of the human family.

Martin Luther King Jr. was born on Jan. 15, 1929. In 1983, President Ronald Reagan signed the law setting aside the third Monday of January as a holiday honoring the civil rights icon. It was first observed three years later.

King鈥檚 wife, Coretta Scott King, once said of the holiday: 鈥淚t is a day of interracial and intercultural cooperation and sharing. No other day of the year brings so many peoples from different cultural backgrounds together in such a vibrant spirit of brother and sisterhood,鈥� she said. 鈥淲hether you are African-American, Hispanic or Native American, whether you are Caucasian or Asian-American, you are part of the great dream Martin Luther King Jr. had for America. This is not a black holiday; it is a peoples鈥� holiday. And it is the young people of all races and religions who hold the keys to the fulfillment of his dream.鈥�

漏 2019, 精东AV