Easter 2 -- Remembering Martin Luther King, Jr.

Icon by Brother Robert Lentz, OFM

This morning we celebrated the Second Sunday of Easter by remembering Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., who entered eternal life 50 years ago this week on April 4, 1968.   As part of the sermon, I read excerpts from three of Dr. King's speeches.  Those three sermons are:

1. "Where Do We Go From Here," an address delivered to the 11th Annual Convention of Southern Christian Leadership Conference in 1967. The entire speech transcript can be found here, while this site includes the end of the speech, including the sections I read.

2. "I Have A Dream," August 28, 1963, March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. (I read the end of the sermon.) Text and audio can be found at https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/king-papers/documents/i-have-dream-address-delivered-march-washington-jobs-and-freedom

3. "I Have Seen the Promised Land," April 3, 1968, Bishop Charles Mason Temple, Memphis, Tennessee.  (I read the end of the sermon.)  Text and audio can be found at https://kinginstitute.stanford.edu/king-papers/documents/ive-been-mountaintop-address-delivered-bishop-charles-mason-temple

I would highly recommend A Testament of Hope: The Essential Writings of Martin Luther King, Jr., edited by James M. Washington, which contains many of his sermons, his books, and many of his other important writings including "Letter From Birmingham City Jail."

We were also blessed to have James Willaman join us and play U2's "Pride" for our offertory anthem.  You can watch his presentation, which Jane recorded and posted to YouTube, below.