Once again, the interfaith community of central Indiana is honored to join the Indiana Christian Leadership Conference (ICLC) in celebrating what would have been the 96th birthday of the interfaith icon, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King on Jan. 20 at St. Johnās Missionary Baptist Church, located at 1651 Dr. Andrew J Brown Ave. The doors will open at 9:30 a.m. EST, with the main service beginning at 11:00.
The ICLC, currently under the leadership of President Thomas L. Brown and Executive Director the Rev. M. Gill, is the longest running organization ā consecutively since January of 1969 ā to honor the birthday of King.
Charlie Wiles, the executive director of the Center for Interfaith Cooperation (CIC), along with yours truly, Michael āMikalā Saahir, the Resident Imam of the Nur-Allah Islamic Center, has worked closely and diligently with ICLC to magnify the interfaith vision and forethought of our beloved Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Charlie Wiles observed, āThe Center for Interfaith Cooperation has had the privilege to participate in The Indiana Christian Leadership Conference’s Birthday Celebration Service, honoring the life and legacy of Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King for several years now by including diverse religious voices at the beginning of the program.ā
Charlie Wiles added that the universality of interfaith prayers at the celebration demonstrates that, āDr. King’s example of civility and his message of love, justice, and nonviolence resonate deeply with each of the faith traditions that we work with at CIC. I cannot think of a more important message in 2025.ā
Dr. Thomas L. Brown, reflecting heavily on Dr. Kingās book, āWhere Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community?,ā captures the moment that America is in as we observe Dr. Kingās birthday. āThe significance this 20th of January to the King Day celebration coincides with the Presidential Induction.ā
Acknowledging the change of Americaās political winds, Dr. Brown concluded, āYes, we are gathered in our various space and places reminding ourselves of community, love principles of nonviolence, justice and equality for all; but we are not sure where we are going this year as a nation.” It might just be “chaos.āā
Historically, often religion has been manipulated as a tool of division. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. committed his life to achieve the opposite; he used the diversity of religion to unite the human family in his fight for freedom for all people. The ICLC has taken the lead in using Dr. Kingās examples of inclusiveness.
Dr. Marilyn Gill precisely noted, āReflecting on all that has been said and done ā and must be done ā in honor of Dr. M. L. King, Jr, requires the “Strength to Love.”
āTo accomplish what must be done now, we must pursue the philosophy to love as Dr. King loved, then,ā Gill said. āBuddhists, Catholics, Christians, Jews, and Muslims joined Dr. King in his movement of freedom for all people. It is that rich history that demonstrated āStrength to Loveā which made the difference and cannot be rewritten or ignored.ā
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was ā and remains ā an interfaith giant. He gave his life in pursuit of, against great odds, America having community over chaos. We owe King and his generation of freedom fighters a great debt, a debt that we can pay doing all within our resources to continue to fight for justice.
We invite you to join us on Monday, Jan. 20 as ICLC and the interfaith community of Indianapolis united in celebration of the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. People of all faith traditions are welcomed as lift up in memory and action our interfaith giant.
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