Houses of worship plan variety of King events

Several houses of worship and faith-inspired groups are hosting events and activities commemorating the Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday.

• St. John Missionary Baptist Church will host the annual Martin Luther King Day Program at 3 p.m. Sunday at 5700 N Kelley. The Rev. Michael L. Mitchell, presiding bishop of the 12th District of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, will be keynote speaker.

• The annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day Mass will be at 5 p.m. Sunday at Corpus Christi Catholic Church, 1616 N Kelly. The Most Rev. Paul S. Coakley, archbishop of the Archdiocese of Oklahoma City, will be principal celebrant. For more information, call 236-4301.

• The annual NAACP/Jewish Cross Cultural Service will be at 6 p.m. Sunday at Temple B’nai Israel, 4901 N Pennsylvania. This longtime event, which began through a partnership between the temple and the Oklahoma City NAACP, will feature as keynote speaker author Jo Ivester. A second speaker will be Dr. Ruth-Anne Thorton, project creator of the Black to the Future Experience. Ivester’s book “On the Outskirts of Hope: A Memoir of the 1960’s Deep South” chronicles what happened when her Jewish family moved from Boston to a predominantly black rural town in Mississippi in 1967.

• The 21st annual Midwest City Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Prayer Breakfast will be on Monday at the Sheraton Midwest City Reed Center, 5750 Will Rogers Road. Doors open at 7 a.m. Program begins at 8 a.m. Oklahoma County District Judge Alecia Timmons will be keynote speaker. Information: Tickets are $15 and may be purchased by calling Prosperity Real Estate at 623-1957, online at Midwestcitymlk.com or at the door on the day of the event.

• The annual community-wide holiday program will be at 12:15 p.m. at St. Paul’s Episcopal Cathedral,

127 NW 7. Chelle Luper Wilson, daughter of the late Oklahoma City civil right activist Clara Luper, will be keynote speaker. Midwest City Councilwoman Christine Price Allen will serve as emcee. • A Choir Festival will be at 3 p.m. Jan. 21 at Wesley United Methodist Church, 1401 NW 25. The second annual festival is designed to honor King’s message, life and legacy. Participating choirs include the Ambassador’s Concert Choir, Central Presbyterian Church Choir, Evangelistic Baptist Church of Christ’s TJ Choir and the Wesley United Methodist Church Choir. A love offering will be collected to benefit El Sistema, a youth orchestra after-school program for at-risk youths. Information: 525-3521; email wesleyokc@coxinet.net.