The Church of the Holy Spirit (Episcopal) of Orleans once again hosted the annual MLK Breakfast to honor the life and work of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Though always a free will donation event, this year it was completely “booked” by late December, likely due to the great good fortune to have Rev. Liz Walker as our Keynote Speaker and, peoples’ need for community and connection during these tumultuous times. If you missed the Breakfast, it can be viewed on line via the Church’s link: https://www.youtube.com/live/ScpOIuFHgxk?si=_1XZhZlSr6yowhIt
Rev. Wesley Williams and artist Candida Rose lead the audience in the opening, sing along song “Lift Every Voice and Sing” widely regarded as the African American National Anthem.
Rev. Sally Norris and Rev. Williams shared a beautiful tribute to the late Rev. Ken Campbell, with whom they founded the MLK Action Team.
Rev. Liz Walker spoke with passion. She described how Rev. Dr. Martin L. King’s definition of love was that “…an individual seeks not his own good but the good of his neighbor … and that means you don’t choose who is worthy of your love, there’s no distinction between friend and enemy”. “And in that definition, we are all to love our enemies.” “Oh my God, she declared, “that’s the hardest thing to even conceive of these days because the lines are so clearly drawn”. She shared a memory of hearing Dr. King when she was a child and she reminded us that “the Civil rights movement brought to this country were momentous, revolutionary, earth shattering changes but they were not conclusive. They did not end the battle. As a matter of fact, we’re in the same battle now. This is not new. We’re in the battle that’s been going on since the Civil War. And while it’s easy to look back with a romantic, sentimental analysis of the triumph of that era, we know that the work was not finished. … Som people think, oh no, we’ve never been through what we’re going through now. We have. We’ve been fighting for justice, for democracy since this country was born.”
“Now I hear you talk about all the activity coming out of this church and I think that you’re being faithful to the moment. Faithful to the urgent needs around you. But I want you to step that up. Because the times demand more.”
Ogoma N., a local high school student and this year’s MLK Action Team student intern, shared her thoughts on American history through the lens of the novel To Kill a Mockingbird and her lived experiences with racism.
Candida Rose shared 4 beautiful and powerful songs. Post Breakfast, some attendees said they were moved to tears by her music.
The culmination of the event was the awarding of the third annual MLK Action Team’s Advocate for Racial Justice award. It was presented by past recipient Jeanne Morrison to Tara Vargas Wallace for her years of activism, most recently culminating in the creation of the nonprofit, AmplifyPOCcapecod. Tara and the Amplify nonprofit she leads, are dedicated to “… to eliminating the racial wealth gap (disparity in assets across race and ethnicity) by removing barriers created by systemic racism”. Congratulations Tara and thank you for all that you do for all of us on Cape Cod.