A joyous celebration punctuated with motivational calls to action marked the annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day Prayer Breakfast held Jan. 21 at Verbum Dei High School in Watts.
"Keeping the Dream Alive Remembering the Past; Forging Toward the Future" was the theme of the breakfast sponsored by the African American Catholic Center for Evangelization. The morning event featured speakers, music, dancers and inspiration for the nearly 500 folks in attendance, with about 25 parishes representing support from across the L.A. Archdiocese.
"I love hearing the speakers, seeing the young people and catching up with friends," said Jean Lawrence, a retired schoolteacher who came with a group from St. Frances X. Cabrini Church in Los Angeles. "It's a good way to reflect on King and his message."
"We should never give up on the dream," said LeRoy Titus, master of ceremonies and parishioner at Holy Name of Jesus Church in Los Angeles. Titus was in the crowd during King's famous "I Have a Dream" speech in 1963.
"I was in the military at the time and forbidden to go," he said, but he went anyway. Losing his security clearance for a period was "well worth it. That moment changed my life."
Theresa Roche brought her 8-year-old grandson to the event, hoping the youngster will have a better understanding King's life and message. "We need to take this message constantly back to our own communities and parishes," said the St. Raphael (L.A.) parishioner. "We can't sit back and let others do [the work of Dr. King] for us. We have to do it."
Indeed, the call to action was foremost on the minds of speakers who offered up stirring testimonies and inspirational stories.
Dr. Susan Abelein, principal of Verbum Dei, presented two exemplary African American high school students, Christopher Lewis and David Price, as examples of how their personal dreams for a better life are becoming a reality. With academic successes, both are working at local law firms through a school program. "I am prepared to make a difference in this world," announced Lewis to thunderous applause.
As the first African American woman elected to Congress in 1972, County Supervisor Yvonne Brathwaite Burke noted that while today segregation is not an everyday experience for African Americans as it was in Dr. King's day, many current human rights issues still need attention and work.
"I know [Dr. King] would be fighting for peace in Iraq," she said. "He would be working to eliminate poverty. We face 90,000 homeless people in our city. There is still so much we need to do."
Keynote speaker Michael Datcher also impressed the crowds with the message of putting deeds behind words.
A professor at Loyola Marymount University and author, Datcher discussed how love propels action and care for one another.
"Dr. King knew that love is a verb, an action word," he said calling love not just romantic love between two people, but agape love, the unconditional love that seeks nothing in return.
"How do you see the spirit of God in one another?" he challenged. "We must ask ourselves, how do I treat people when I'm not in church, when no one is looking?"
"Let's love God by changing the world, by making agape love a verb," Datcher said offering a practical suggestion: get to know the spirit of hope that lives inside each human being. "Have a little date with God every day," he said. "Give yourself 15 minutes a day to meditate, read the Bible or other spiritual text."
Datcher also encouraged clergy to "lead by example. Your people need your leadership. That's why Dr. King's example was so powerful. He lived the message."
In closing, Auxiliary Bishop Oscar Solis reminded the crowds that "God does not like lukewarm Christians; he wants hot blooded Christians; people of action who know that love isn't just a feeling, but something we do with our hearts."
Instructing the audience to stand up and reach for one another, the bishop led a chorus of "Reach Out And Touch (Somebody's Hand)."
"Let us keep the dream of Martin Luther King, Jr. alive, not just in our own hearts, but also in the hearts of every person we touch," he said. "When we look at one another, let us see God in each and every person." |