Shouts and laughter echoed throughout the chapel at St. John M.B. Church Sunday night as Newton County residents gathered to celebrate the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
The event, which featured speakers from local churches, government and civic organizations, gave the community the opportunity to reflect on the message MLK shared, the changes he brought and the impact his mission had on the South, on the country and on themselves.
Martin Luther King Jr. was a doer, said Henry Wilson, president on the Newton County NAACP. He didn’t sit back and complain; he went out and got things done.
“He was about our Father’s business,” Wilson said. “He was about change.”
Wilson said God calls his followers to be doers like Dr. King. He commands Christians to go out and bring change.
“When you sit back and look for handouts, you mess up,” Wilson said.
Tammy Jones, president of the Third New Hope Women’s Auxiliary, said to her, Dr. King was about service to others. She encouraged everyone to honor the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. by finding ways to help others in their communities and making the world a better place.
“Let us remember his legacy by serving others,” she said.
The keynote address for Sunday’s event was given by Rev. Lindsey Kidd, pastor of United Chapel and Lake Central United Methodist churches. Kidd, who previously served in the Mississippi Highway Patrol before entering the ministry, said he became a pastor for the same reason Dr. King became a Civil Rights leader. God called on him to do it.
Kidd chose 1 Samuel 17:33 and 48 for his sermon, the story of David and Goliath. The theme, he said, was “the champion that rose.”
Like David, a shepherd who killed a Philistine giant, Kidd said Dr. King was an Alabama minister, who faced giants of his own.
“There was a time we could not go up to church and worship God,” he said. “There was a time, we could not vote. In life, you’re going to face a lot of giants. I bet Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. had to face down some giants in his life.”
Both David and Dr. King defeated their giants by putting their faith in Christ, Kidd said. While David was a simple shepherd and Dr. King was a simple minister, God gave both men the tools they needed to overcome the obstacles in their way.
Kidd said he encourages all who struggle, who find themselves facing down a giant, to remember the story of David, to remember Dr. King and to put their trust in God.
