Birthday celebration planned for Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.

An event marking the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday is scheduled for a Riverside church Jan. 14.

Organized by the Riverside Clergy Association, the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Community Birthday Celebration will include speeches and a choir performance.

The 4p.m. event will be at Park Avenue Baptist Church, 1910 Martin Luther King Blvd., on the city’s Eastside.

The guest speaker will be Joshua Beckley, pastor of Ecclesia Christian Fellowship in San Bernardino.

The Community Family MLK Choir, directed by Marvina “Cooky” Levy, is set to perform. The choir will have two rehearsals, on Thursday at 7p.m. and

Jan.13 at 10a.m. Both will be at Park Avenue Baptist Church.

The choir has members of all ages, and volunteers are welcome to join. If a participant can attend at least one rehearsal, he’s invited to be part of the group.

The event’s theme is “Keeping The Dream Alive.”

“There have been many attempts to kill the dream and the progress that has been made,” clergy association President the Rev. Paul Munford and Vice President the Rev. L. E. Campbell wrote in an email. “We are at a critical time in our history and democracy where there are blatant attempts to roll back the clock. But with our coming together in unity and commitment, with God on our side, we can keep the dream alive.”