The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was “a man of faith and conviction of heart” who called all people to recognize that “we are all made in the image of God, deserving of respect and dignity no matter the color of our skin or any other factor,” Washington Cardinal Wilton Gregory said at a Jan. 13 ecumenical gathering to honor the late civil rights leader.

“It is clear that in Dr. King’s Christian witness to the world, he used God’s Word to move and change the heart of our nation, and indeed the entire world,” the cardinal said.

Cardinal Gregory was one of several interfaith leaders who gathered at Turner Memorial AME Church in Hyattsville, Maryland for what the cardinal said was a time to “pause our schedules and to simply be together to pray and reflect on the enduring legacy of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King.” The Martin Luther King Jr. Ecumenical Service was sponsored by the Prince George’s Leadership Action Network.

The cardinal offered a prayer and made remarks during a brief reflection on Dr. King, whom he said “has an incredibly special place in our hearts.”

Calling Dr. King a “champion of civil and human rights for all people,” Cardinal Gregory said the late civil rights leader began his efforts with African Americans who “fought to live their God-given humanity in spite of open, daily hostility, hatred and intentional obstruction of equal opportunities.”

In his prayer, Cardinal Gregory mentioned “those who lived before us – particularly those who suffered indescribable cruelty, imposed poverty, segregation, rejection and pain.”

“We honor them and thank you for their witness that later made the witness of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. possible,” Cardinal Gregory prayed.

On Aug. 28, 1963, Dr. King was among the leaders who organized a March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. The march included a rally on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial that was opened with an invocation by Archbishop Patrick O’Boyle, then the Catholic archbishop of Washington.

“That hot August day was a coming together – much like what we do annually on the King holiday weekend. That day, crowds at the Lincoln Memorial stood together against inequalities in employment and political and social injustices of all kinds,” Cardinal Gregory said in his remarks at the ecumenical gathering.

It was at that rally at the Lincoln Memorial that Dr. King delivered his now-famous “I Have a Dream” speech.

In that speech, Dr. King spoke of his dream where “my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. I have a dream that one day … little Black boys and Black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.”

Cardinal Gregory lamented that “in several ways, we still march today … although it looks a bit different, there tragically still is a battle against injustices that plague Black Americans and other Americans as well as world citizens from all social classes and circumstances.”

Dr. King was assassinated almost 56 years ago. In late March 1968, he traveled to Memphis, Tenn., to support Black sanitation public works employees who were on strike seeking higher wages and better working conditions. On April 4 of that year, Dr. King — standing on the balcony of his room at the Lorraine Motel — was mortally wounded by a gunshot fired by James Earl Ray. He was taken to St. Joseph Hospital, where after emergency surgery he was pronounced dead. He was 39 years old.

Cardinal Gregory has a long association with the late civil rights leader. Cardinal Gregory previously served from 2004 to 2019 as the archbishop of Atlanta, Dr. King’s birthplace. He has preached in Atlanta’s Ebenezer Baptist Church, where both Dr. King and his father preached, and in 2006, he was inducted into the Martin Luther King Board of Preachers at Morehouse College in Atlanta. In 2019, then-Archbishop Gregory was appointed by Pope Francis to become the archbishop of Washington, and the next year, the pope named him as a cardinal, making Cardinal Gregory became the first African American cardinal.

Dr. Martin Luther King’s “contribution to this country is legendary and well-deserving of recognition - not just on the occasion of our national observance of his birth, but each time we gather as a people united across races, languages, religious traditions and ethnic cultures,” Cardinal Gregory said.

The Martin Luther King Jr. Day federal holiday was signed into law by then-President Ronald Reagan in 1983, and first observed three years later. It is celebrated each year on the third Monday of January, close to Dr. King’s Jan. 15 birthday. This year the holiday falls on Dr. King’s actual birthday. Born in 1929, the late civil rights leader would have been 95 this year.

The Prince George’s Leadership Action Network (PLAN), which sponsored the gathering at Turner Memorial AME Church to honor Dr. King, is a community organization developing leaders in congregations to act together to work against poverty and work for the common good in Prince George’s County.

The organization has more than 20 institutional members, mainly faith congregations, including the following Catholic parishes in Prince George’s County: St Jerome in Hyattsville, St. Matthias the Apostle in Lanham, St. Mary in Landover Hills, and St. Mark the Evangelist in Hyattsville. Father Scott Hahn, pastor of St. Jerome’s, serves as co-chair of the organization, and participated in the Jan. 13 celebration.

“At PLAN, we are living our commitment to address the root causes of economic injustice and all types of discrimination that unfortunately are still far too present in our modern-day society,” Cardinal Gregory said. “As a society, we must continue the work of Dr. King … Whenever any community is interrupted and violated with inequality, violence and mistreatment, our own communities – in fact, the entire human family – also is impacted.”

He added that PLAN continues to do the work of Dr. King in ensuring “every member of our human family can freely live their life with respect and dignity as a child of the Creator.”

Since 2019 PLAN has received financial support from the Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD). 

CCHD is the national anti-poverty program of the U.S. Catholic Bishops.  Through the support of Catholics throughout the country – including the annual special collection each May in The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington – CCHD works to break the cycle of poverty by helping people affected by poverty participate in decisions that affect their lives, families, and communities.

The cardinal reminded those at the gathering is that “each of us is called to love our neighbor – and love includes working for justice and peace.”

“We cannot stand by and let our communities be violated. Our faith requires us to address it,” Cardinal Gregory said. “As our faith drives us to do, we work for change and progress by being present and accompanying our people.”

During the celebration, PLAN recognized Cardinal Gregory, the CCHD and the social justice ministry of The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington for supporting the work of the organization.

At the ecumenical gathering, a Scripture reflection was given by Rev. Dr. Henry P. Davis III, the pastor of First Baptist Church of Highland Park. Rev. Frankey D. Grayton, the pastor of Southern Friendship Missionary Baptist Church in Temple, offered the call to worship at the beginning of the prayer service. Also speaking were Rev. Dr. D.K. Kearney, the pastor of Turner Memorial AME Church that hosted the gathering, and Rev. Victor Kirk, the pastor of Sharon Bible Fellowship Church in Lanham. Rev. Dr. Nathanial B. Thomas, the pastor of Forestville New Redeemer Baptist Church, offered a closing prayer and the call to faith in action.

In the prayer he offered at the celebration, Cardinal Gregory asked God for His “continued guidance of every member and for the work of PLAN as we aim to follow the good example of the life of your servant, our brother, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King. Jr.”