Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial, Washington, DC.
Photo taken by Kelley Hudlow on March 29, 2023.
Holy week is about remembering.
Holy Week invites us to slow down and to remember. Each worship service recalls the last days of Jesus’ life as we journey again to the cross.
Our calendar of Lesser Feasts and Fasts also invites us to remember the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., who was assassinated in Memphis, TN, on this day 55 years ago.
For those of us in Alabama, we are also called to remember that 60 years ago, the Birmingham Campaign began on April 3, 1963, with mass meetings, marches, and sit-ins at local lunch counters. Many people were arrested. Eight white clergymen composed a letter calling for unity and patience. Dr. King would respond to this with his own letter from inside the Birmingham Jail on April 16, 1963.
This Holy Week, may we be faithful in remembering.
Almighty God, by the hand of Moses your servant you led your people out of slavery, and made them free at last: Grant that your church, following the example of your prophet Martin Luther King, may resist oppression in the name of your love, and may strive to secure for all your children the blessed liberty of the Gospel of Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Collect for Martin Luther King Jr., Lesser Feasts and Fasts 2022.
A sermon for the Sunday of the Passion: Palm Sunday offered at the Episcopal Church of the Messiah, Heflin, Alabama, 04/02/23:
Principal texts: Matthew 21:1-11; Matthew 27:11-54
ICYMI:
So my life in 2023 has proven pretty hectic. I started in a new position with the Diocese of Alabama and now serve as the Canon for Vocations and Community Engagement. I am still traveling the highways and byways of Alabama, though I am staying a bit closer to home these days. While I momentarily stopped writing postcards, I did keep recording my sermons. You can find the 2023 recordings at this YouTube Playlist here.