Olive Branch Interfaith Peace Partnership

On January 19, 2009, Martin Luther King Jr.’s Birthday Observance and the eve of the inauguration of Barack Obama as the 44^th President of the United States, a broad representation of the Faith Community committed to peace and nonviolence will gather at All Souls Unitarian Universalist Church in Washington, D.C. for a program titled Rebirthing King, Rebirthing America.

The program for the evening has been designed to be replicated in local communities around the country, wherever friends would like to celebrate this event in solidarity with those gathered in Washington. There are a number of components to this event and they can be adapted to whatever resources are available to your community.

The first is a study guide for reflection on Dr. Martin Luther King. Jr.’s’ “Riverside Speech” of April 4^th, 1967, the year before be was assassinated. The speech and a set of four reflections, plus additional background material, can be found at the Olive Branch Interfaith Peace Partnership website. www.olivebranchinterfaith.org . The study guide was prepared by Rev. Donna Schaper of Judson Memorial Church in New York.

The program itself includes suggestions for speakers on four themes, King’s Three Evils (Racism, Militarism and Materialism), and the Beloved Community or World House that he offered as the vision of reconciliation in his messages. Then there is a litany titled Ashes, Stones and Flowers written by Rev. Patricia Pearce, Tabernacle United Church, Philadelphia. Finally there is a pledge that might be recited in closing. A generic template is attached of the proposed order of the event.

The Covenantal pledge is also available on the Olive Branch site in a form that can be completed and emailed to the Shalom Center as a public commitment.