Choirs, community join hands at Boyertown Area MLK service
The Boyertown Area Ministerial Association hosted its 21st annual Martin Luther King Jr. service at New Hanover United Methodist Church.
“The original inspiration (for this celebration) was when the local pastors had a desire to create a service around this holiday that reflected the message that our community would like to send about the dream of Dr. Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and racial reconciliation,” said Mark Hager, Pastor of Butter Valley Community
Church. “We want to remind ourselves of what we want to be as a community and who we want to be. We believe that the greatest strength and asset we have to continue to move forward comes from our faith in Jesus Christ.”
Hager said word of the service goes out to all the local churches through the ministerial association. “I know I see people there from at least 10 different churches.”
The MLK service began with a welcome and a prayer from New Hanover UMC’s Associate Pastor for Outreach Gil Vining: “For the next hour or so it’s just going to be a wonderful celebration. And we honor Christ through that.”
Sara Obarow, director of learning, Boyertown Area School District, read from 2 Corinthians 5:14-21.
Superintendent Boyertown Area School District Dana Bedden and Pine Forge Academy Principal Clifford Reynolds spoke together, “Through our scientific genius, we have made of the world a neighbor, but through a wall of spiritual geniuses, we have failed to make, of our own nation, a brotherhood. This is the chief dilemma of our nation. This tragic dilemma, which we now confront, leaves a nation and a church with a tremendous challenge.”
Pine Forge Academy’s Kalin Griffin said, “As African Americans, we have limited ourselves and succumbed to the boundaries set by others. In this speech, we find liberation, freedom and the courage to move beyond. I too have a dream, a dream that reaches beyond my school, church and community. A dream that reaches beyond stereotypes, racism and the color of my skin. I have a dream that we move onto a world much better than this.”
Boyertown Area School Dis
trict’s Justin Knarr shared, “Dr. King’s dream has allowed my family to adopt two of my sisters and my youngest brother of all different races. It is not always peaches ‘n cream even in today’s society. When my entire family goes out anywhere, you can always count on getting a sideways glance, an odd stare or presumptuous comment. All of the indifference allows my entire family to share the good news of the gospel with all kinds of people. Dr. King never said that his dream would be effortless to accomplish.”
During a Good Samaritan drama performed by students from Pine Forge Academy and Boyertown Area Senior High School, 16-year-old Ray Lambert is ‘beaten’ by two unknown assailants. He is carried away and deposited behind two tree props. Many people pass him by unwilling to help or get involved. Eventually, one family assists Lambert.
When his character is leaving the hospital, news reporters ask “Is this gangrelated? Black-on-black crime? Can you tell us what it was?”
Lambert’s character replies, “What? I didn’t see the color of their skin. And who’s worried about that anyway? Who’s worried about who attacked me?” He concluded by imploring everyone, “We need to celebrate more people who overcome fear, and the people who show God’s love like Dr. Martin Luther King.”
Elder Henry Fordham, President of the Allegheny East Conference of the Seventh-Day Adventist Church, was a student at Pine Forge Academy in the 1950s and taught there in the 70s.
“Back in the 1940s things were a lot different in terms of racial relationships, even in the church. There was bigotry and there was racism. A group of black leaders got together and determined that they would provide an atmosphere and an opportunity for underprivileged, and not so underprivileged, black young people who were not allowed in our school system at that time. The property has such a rich heritage and it was just amazing they were able to build a school in the middle of WWII.”
Pastor Hager this year the choirs have practiced two of the same songs so that they can perform together. Some Pine Forge students were able to attend a Boyertown Fellowship of Christian Athletes event in January.
“The relationships formed through this joint service are creating opportunities to bring students from both schools together which has not happened before. We are excited to continue to pursue ways for these young people living in the same school district area to interact,” said Pastor Hager.
In addition to the two songs they performed together, the combined choir led the congregation in singing “We Shall Overcome.”
Boyertown Area Ministerial Association President James Shelly offered a benediction to conclude the service.