By Jay Sorgi • Posted January 21, 2026

It was a day to come in from the cold of winter and the starkness of a troubled nation, and warm up to the fire of the still-alive dream of confronting our struggles and turning our world into a beloved community.

Archbishop Nelson J. Pérez led a group of faith leaders of various denominations, including one of the first Black students to attend Girard College at the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Interfaith Prayer Service, held on a snowy Sunday afternoon Jan. 18 at St. Malachy Catholic Church in North Philadelphia.

“Dr. King had a dream, but it wasn’t his dream. It was always God’s dream, that God planted deep within his soul,” the Archbishop said, citing the 13th chapter of the Gospel of St. John which he proclaimed.

“You know that Gospel speaks about love, and today we’ve spoken about the beloved community. But it’s a work in progress, isn’t it? We’re not there.”

>>>Photos: Interfaith Community Gathers to Honor the Legacy of MLK Jr.

A series of talks was interspersed with deeply moving Gospel songs by Catholic and Jewish choirs including the St. Rose of Lima School Choir of Philadelphia.

They aimed to help inspire the congregation that filled two-thirds of the church to walk the hard pathway to that “beloved community, (which) will require a qualitative change in our souls and a quantitative change in our lives,” said Stacy Williams, director of the archdiocesan Office of Black Catholics, which sponsored the event.

“The beloved community envisions a world where everyone experiences justice, is cared for, and where poverty, hunger and hate are eliminated.”

Williams, along with St. Malachy’s pastor Father Matthew Biedrzycki, Office for Black Catholics Coordinator Dr. Antionette Reaves and several community members all shared reflections, interspersed with Biblical readings and talks led by four guest speakers including Archbishop Pérez.

Reading a selection from the second chapter of Genesis, Rabbi Shai Cherry of Congregation Adath Jeshurun in Elkins Park showed how the story of Adam and Eve and the world God created was such a beloved community.

“From the beginning of the world’s creation, the Holy One entered into partnership with earthly creatures. God was looking not just for companionship, but for partnership,” Rabbi Cherry said.

As a result of  God’s desire for partnership, “God created what we have before us. And we are tasked with this holy endeavor of building a holy community.”

Rabbi Cherry then cited the Book of Malachi, the namesake of St. Malachy, to conclude his comments.

“Malachy said, ‘Did not God create us? Why do we betray one another, desecrating the covenant of our ancestors?’” he said. “It is with the strength and example of Dr. King that we here are to build on a foundation of love and companionship, and what the rabbis imagined God would (imagine) in us: holy Community.”

Nashirah, which is the Jewish Chorale of Greater Philadelphia, and the Philadelphia Gospel Mass Choir then led a moving rendition of “Total Praise” by the late Gospel music leader Richard Smallwood, before a presentation by Dr. Tia Pratt, the assistant vice president for Mission Engagement and Strategic Initiatives at Villanova University.

She read from the 58th chapter of the Book of Isaiah, sharing how if we “remove the yoke from among you, the accusing finger, a malicious speech, if you lavish your food on the hungry and satisfy the afflicted, then your light shall rise in the darkness,” before diving into the disagreements, polarization, hateful “isms” and “phobias” that divide God’s people.

“This Scripture passage makes clear who we are called to be, the repairer of the breach. In this meeting, we have guidance that is specific, even practical, on bringing about the reign of God,” she said.

“Just in the last few days, Pope Leo XIV said war is back in Europe and the zeal for war is spreading … the breach becomes greater and more difficult to repair. This is not a cause for despair, but rather a call to action. We can repair the breach by building the beloved community, a global vision in which all people can share in the wealth of the earth.”

Reverend Owen Gowans, the pastor of Mount Moriah Temple Baptist Church in South Philadelphia, received the fruits of Dr. King and NAACP activist Cecil B. Moore, helping to repair the breach and help change Girard College’s all-white policy for its student body.

Rev. Gowans became one of the first Black students to attend the school in 1968.

Citing the second chapter of the Acts of the Apostles  and how  the beloved community of the early Church met each other’s needs “with gladness, sinless heart, (and) praising God,” Rev. Gowans compared the early Christian community with  the divisions of today’s society.

“When we can all be together, one at a time, one at a time, as the old hymn (says), you will see some change,” Rev. Gowans said.

“It may not come when you want it. But it’s in our time. It’s in our time, (so) realize that God is working it out for our good. Whatever’s going on down in Washington, D.C., whatever’s going on in the community, we have to unite and stand together under the umbrella of the Lord Jesus Christ.”

Archbishop Pérez capped all the speakers and choirs’ words at the end, particularly Rev. Gowans’ journey with Girard College, all in the context of the struggles of today. He linked it to the theme of the Church’s just-concluded Jubilee of Hope.

“We confront all sorts of problems. Wars. Injustices. Racism. A country more divided than it’s ever been,” Archbishop Pérez said.

“We continue to pray, and we continue to hope … we have to work on it together. Dr. King was a witness for that. Maybe the world didn’t change completely. But we’re working on this. Because we have hope.”