Summit Unitarian Community to Read MLK Speech

For the third year in a row, The  in Summit will present a reading of a speech by Dr. Martin Luther King in observance of MLK Day 2012.

The program begins at 11 a.m. on Monday, Jan. 16, at the church, 4 Waldron Ave. (at Springfield Avenue). This year's reading features the speech "Paul's Letter to American Christians," first given in 1956 during the Montgomery Bus Boycott. After the reading, Rev. Ronald Allen, pastor of in Summit, will present remarks, and Elijah Griffin, a member of Pilgrim Baptist's choir, will sing a solo.

The public is warmly invited to the reading, sponsored by the church’s Racial Justice Task Force, with Arthur Perkins, chair. Carol Royal will moderate a discussion to follow. Light refreshments will be served in the church lobby beginning at 10:30 a.m. and again after the program.

The community is also invited to join the congregation in filling Ed Huberman’s Box with non-perishable groceries, an ongoing drive to help combat hunger. Anyone interested is asked to bring canned goods, pasta, rice and other non-perishables to the church lobby between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. The food will be donated to the Helping Hands and Ears Food Pantry in East Orange.

The Unitarian programs are part of , sponsored by .

Dr. King first preached the sermon "Paul's Letter to American Christians," on Nov. 4, 1956, at the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, where he was pastor. The year-long bus boycott began on Dec. 1, 1955, after Rosa Parks refused to give up her bus seat, and lasted until Dec. 21, 1956, when a federal ruling declared segregated buses to be unconstitutional.

UU members and friends of the Summit congregation have volunteered to read the speech. They are Alex Rothfelder, Melvyn Polatchek, Tom Howard, Julia Currie-Miller, Bill Foley and Ajorie Henry.

For further information, contact the church at (908) 273-3245 or visit the website at www.ucsummit.org