Detroit area Catholic community pays tribute to the prominent civil rights figure with prayers, marches and service
Detroit— “Free at last! Free at last! Thank God almighty we are free at last!”
The words rang out through rows of houses behind Gesu Elementary School, where the student body marched down the sidewalks holding images of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., three days before the national holiday that bears his name.
King was not Catholic, but the freedom march at Gesu was one of several efforts to pay tribute to, and to thank God for, King’s contribution to society.
In the Archdiocese of Detroit, Gesu and other Catholic schools – both in the city and the suburbs – held lesson plans, prayer services and service projects to recall and renew King’s message that all people are created equal.
On the weekend before Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, about 150 young men and women along with their adult sponsors participated in a “service blitz” in Detroit – helping out at service centers such as St. Leo’s Soup Kitchen (youth from St. Leo Parish), On the Rise Bakery (youth from St. Raymond/Our Lady of Good Counsel Parish, Detroit), Children’s Hospital and nursing homes.
The archdiocese’s Office for Black Catholic Ministries hosted a Mass in honor of King’s memory at the Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament. And in Birmingham, Ala., Detroit priest Fr. Clarence Williams, CSSP, spoke before 2,300 people at a convention center at a 26th annual breakfast marking the city’s role in the civil rights movement.
Teens from Sacred Heart and St. Elizabeth parishes, Detroit, and from Holy Family Parish, Inkster, cooked, packed and delivered food to homeless people in the Cass Corridor.
The Urban Parishes Youth Choir led a prayer service at the Wayne County Youth Detention Home, and teens from Corpus Christ Parish in northwest Detroit cleaned and manned the Core City Neighborhoods Community Store.
Youths from St. Cecilia Parish, Detroit, and from St. Gabriel Parish, Detroit, visited with seniors at local nursing and senior living centers. Madonna Parish teens collected scarves, hats and gloves for the homeless.
A number of other parishes in the metro area havde committed to doing youth service projects between now and the end of April.
“What we hoped for is that we could continue to connect the younger generation with Dr. King’s dream,” said John J.F. Thorne, director of Black Catholic Ministries for the archdiocese.
“We urge young people to ‘Live, Love and Lead Like Christ,’ because it’s when we do this that we become what we are called to be – a light to the world. The light of Christ shows through all our actions,” Thorne added.
In his talk in Alabama, Fr. Williams – who founded the Institute for the Recovery from Racism – referred to Birminghamas the “Bethlehem of Freedom, according to an account in The Birmingham News.
“You are in the right place at the right time to make a difference,” Fr. Williams was quoted as saying.
Throughout all the King-centered events in Detroit, the spirit conveyed was one of solidarity with King’s dream.
“Regardless of his religious background, his message still rings true – and it’s just about all people being equal,” said Keith Farrugia, youth minister at Gesu parish and a religion teacher at the school, after a half-hour of leading the student body in chants and songs. “That’s the message that we wanted to share today.”
Gesu’s youngsters especially took a liking to the public display, during which they marched several blocks.
“It felt good,” said eighth grader Mone’t Brown. “It’s like letting people know that we do something to celebrate him and we’d never forget him.”
Her classmate Jeremy Miller agreed that being part of the march felt nice, as they were spreading a positive message.
“What it means to me is the freedom of every color person coming together, being happy – not like any fighting or war,” Jeremy said.
The foremost goal for many of the adults when it came to King seemed to be passing on his legacy to the next generation.
“Teaching (students) about how to get along in the world — and to be able to problem solve and have tolerance with people —is sometimes more important than the academics,” said Lisa Powaser, the preschool director at Gesu who organized the school-wide Martin Luther King Jr. march. “It’s extremely important that we don’t forget that message, no matter where we are.”
Michigan Catholic reporter Robert Delaney and Managing Editor Joe Kohn contributed to this report
