Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

By Gia Myers • Posted January 9, 2025

People from many faith traditions will commemorate the life and legacy of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. at the 42nd Annual Archdiocesan Interfaith Prayer Service hosted by the archdiocesan Office for Black Catholics on Sunday, Jan. 19 at 3 p.m. at St. Athanasius Church in Philadelphia.

Archbishop Nelson J. Pérez will be the principal convener, opening the service with prayer, sharing a Gospel reading and reflection, and blessing prayer requests from those in attendance. Also participating in the prayer service will be a Jewish rabbi and a Baptist minister.

The theme of this year’s prayer service is “The Beloved Community,” representing Dr. King’s philosophy of social justice.

According to Stacy Williams, director of the Office of Black Catholics, Dr. King often described this philosophy in his speeches. In particular she pointed to his iconic “I Have a Dream” speech, which he gave to an estimated 250,000 people on Aug. 28, 1963, at the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.

“All people were invited to that community because God made all of us,” Williams said of Dr. King’s beloved community, which represents “how we should treat each other.”

He envisioned people living and sharing together, Williams said, with everyone in the community having equitable access to education, food and other resources.

“Think about how wonderful it would be if all of us adopted that philosophy all over the world,” she said. “If we lived in that beloved community — what a wonderful world.”

Stacy Williams is director of the archdiocesan Office of Black Catholics.

Father Joseph F. Okonski, pastor of St. Athanasius Parish, which is hosting the Jan. 19 prayer service, believes it’s important that people memorialize not only the legacy of Dr. King, but also his words and teachings.

Dr. King “had a profound effect on not only our society, but also countries around the world, particularly in Africa, because that began their movements for independence, for equal rights and justice,” said Father Okonski.

The prayer service, to which everyone is invited, brings “the community together to celebrate his legacy and also acknowledge what drove him to be willing to put his life on the line for freedom, and that was his faith in Jesus Christ,” said Father Okonski.

In addition to the archbishop, other speakers at the prayer service include Shawn Zevit, lead rabbi at Mishkan Shalom in Philadelphia, Rev. James E. Mack, senior pastor at Wayland Temple Baptist Church in Philadelphia and Marcel Fletcher from the Archbishop’s Commission for Racial Healing. Speakers will share readings and their reflections on the beloved community.

A group of Black Catholic high school students who have been awarded the Mitchell Scholarship this year – a competitive scholarship program started in 2000 and named after former U.S. Senator George J. Mitchell – will also participate in the service, reading quotes from Dr. King reflecting his philosophy of the beloved community.

Music will be provided by the Philadelphia Catholic Gospel Mass Choir, under the direction of Tonya Taylor-Dorsey, and the St. Athanasius Youth Choir. The soloist will be Rita Bostic, parishioner of St. Athanasius.

The prayer service was first held by the Archdiocese of Philadelphia in 1983, the same year legislation was signed to create a federal holiday on the third Monday of January to mark the Jan. 15 birthday of Dr. King.